Incandescence
by VampireBasket
Summary: Mika's childhood was a miserable series of ups and downs, the only constant being her strange and seemingly random encounters with an unruly, foul-mouthed zealot. The only thing the duo share is their apparent hatred for one another. But now, on the run from her past and without a single familiar face in her life, Hidan might be just what Mika is looking for. Rated M just in case.
1. Himika: The Flame Empress

**A/N:** Wooooo new story!

So I'm trying this new concept I thought of while designing my new OC, Mikazuki who you will find on my deviantart of course. BUT there are spoilers in the description below her picture so don't read that part, even though it's been slightly altered for the sake of plot.

I'm not entirely sure where this story is going to go yet or how well it'll go down in terms of readers, but reviews are much appreciated and if there's some good interest shown I will put much more into it!

QUESTION TIME AT THE BOTTOM :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, as much as I'd love to.

* * *

 **Himika: The Flame Empress**

'Right, so I'll see you next weekend then?'

'Sure thing, oh and Mika?'

'Hm?'

'Please, try and get some sleep.'

The girl rolled her eyes. Although it wasn't a direct command, it _was_ something that heavily implied she should listen, and anyone who knew her at all, knew damn well that she would do anything to avoid obeying an order. It wasn't that she was purposely trying to be rude or difficult, it was just completely against her nature to be compliant without argument.

All the same, she threw the bar owner – her temporary manager – a nod before moving to pack the rest of her things. She set her guitar into its case and slid the strap over her shoulder, careful not to knock anything as she left the bar.

On her way out, she caught sight of one of the staff members nailing a small, black and white poster with her portrait on it to the wall. It read:

Himika: The Flame Empress

LIVE HERE

Every Saturday night from 7pm.

She rolled her eyes at the name, Himika. It meant 'Scarlet, intense flame', a fitting title for The Flame Empress herself. Really, all she did was sing a little and play her beloved guitar while dressed in red, but it had been one of her old managers that had thought up the name. It was tacky and cliché, hell, it'd even been referred to as a 'stripper's name' before, but she didn't care. It did the job of a show name and that's all that mattered. A stage name was all she needed to hide her identity. Well, that and a slight change of appearance.

Her real name was Mikazuki Naya, esteemed singer and local runaway from Tanigakure, her so-called home in the Land of Rivers. And yet here she was, living blatantly amongst the oblivious people in the village, right under everyone's noses. Hiding in plain sight.

She twisted a piece of dyed scarlet hair between her fingers thoughtfully. Her amber eyes had been harder to disguise, but with her bangs left loose she was able to shadow them slightly and throw off people's perception of her. It had been over three years and, so far, it had worked, so who was she to complain?

She scowled into the night at the timid little raindrops that had begun to patter around her, and she tugged the hood of her maroon coat on further as she hurried across the street. A short walk later, she arrived at her small apartment, placing her guitar on the bed in the spare room carefully before trudging into the kitchen to flip the kettle on. She shuffled around the room tiredly, rummaging in the cupboards in search of a meal she didn't own, cursing her luck when she realised she had also run out of coffee. Well, that sucked.

She sighed as her feet carried her to the window. The weather wasn't too bad, in fact, if she had to guess, she'd say the night would soon dry up if it didn't get any heavier.

Pulling on a black pair of slightly heeled boots, she retrieved her coat once more before venturing back into the cobble stoned street.

She was just about to pass an old, slightly bent looking street lamp that was barely worth calling a lamp for all the light it was giving off, when something moved in the depth of an alleyway.

She froze mid-step, a shiver tingling all the way up her spine as the familiar sense of being watched crept through her. But, never one for being intimidated, Mika turned to face the darkened alley.

'I know you're there. Come out, cowards.'

The pair that emerged from the shadows were not men that she recognised, but she definitely knew those cloaks. They were from Akatsuki.

'Well, well. Look what we have here, Itachi… Don't worry, kid, we're not here to hurt your precious little village.'

She reigned in a comment about the odd, blueish hue to his skin, and instead spat with as much venom in her voice as she could, 'I don't give a shit about this village, _old man_. Now why are you _rats_ here?'

The raven-haired male, Itachi, made no move to respond, but apparently that was the wrong way to address the taller one even if he was _obviously_ no older than his mid-thirties. 'Watch your mouth, little brat, you don't know who you're dealing with.' Before Mika could blink, the strange blue intruder was in front of her, one large hand clasped firmly around her neck.

Thinking fast, she channelled her normally masked chakra to her forearms as she forced his hand away from her throat, leaning forward to knee him in the crotch. He caught her leg easily, just inches from its destination, as though he were mocking her.

'If you're so desperate to live, you're going about it in the wrong way.' He warned, baring his teeth as she growled and slapped her hands together. Her fingers twisted into several quick hand signs, and the Akatsuki male just managed to catch a glimpse of a smirk cross her features before her body was engulfed in blazing scarlet and orange flames.

'What the–' He leapt backwards startled, the hand that had held her knee slightly singed. He watched in open amazement as the flickering red spun furious circles around her entire body, a blizzard of flames.

It died down almost as quickly as it had started, which he took as a sign that she was now satisfied with the distance between them.

'I'll ask you once more, Shark face, why are you here?' To say she was irritated by the lack of response from his partner, Itachi, would be an understatement, but she supposed she should be grateful he wasn't getting involved.

He ignored her question and tilted his head calmly. 'It certainly is unusual to find such a prominent fire user in the Land of Rivers. Where are you really from, girly?'

She was mildly surprised at the fact that he guessed she wasn't originally from this country, but then again, from what she knew of Akatsuki, they were exceptional shinobi. 'I was orphaned at birth, so I wouldn't know. And even if I did, why should I tell _you_?' She dipped her chin slightly and narrowed her eyes, making it obvious she was offended at his curt nickname.

'Whatever. It's too bad you can't hold your tongue, you might have made it to your 18th birthday otherwise…'

'You jerk! I'm 21!' She moved to sign for her defensive jutsu again, but true to their skilled reputation, the Akatsuki member moved too quickly, and soon had her arms pinned painfully to her back with one hand while the other gripped her twin ponytails at the back of her head, forcing her face down against the cold cobbled floor. She grunted in discomfort as her face was pressed against a shallow puddle, and snapped her mouth shut.

The hand holding her head down suddenly vanished, and something prickled at the side of her neck. A quick, yet awkward glance to the left had her amber eyes widening in horror.

'Bastards…' She ground out, anger evident in her tone as the ginormous, bandaged sword scraped across the floor as it was pulled backwards, preparing for her own decapitation.

Unable to hide her horrified expression as the noise faded out, Mika squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the inevitable but swift blow.

'Ngh!' The weight above her was suddenly flung sideways, her head snapping up just in time to see him collide heftily with the already knackered street light, which spluttered in protest before finally giving in and dying out completely.

'Do you know how much it fuckin' sucks to have your head cut off, fish face?!'

She leapt to her feet at the new voice, vaguely registering it as familiar in her brain. She could just about make out his figure through the night, and she supressed a growl at the lamp's inconvenience of going out on her now, of all times.

'There is no time for this. Let's get moving, Kisame.' Mika spun round again to meet the cool gaze of the black-haired male, which now seemed to glow a brilliant crimson through the darkness. Coughing from another direction had her whirling back to the Shark man, and she bit her tongue in frustration at being severely disadvantaged, not only in numbers, but skill level too.

'Fine, fine. You get to live another day, kid.' Kisame, she assumed, had risen to his feet and was now ambling casually to stand beside his partner.

'Wait!' Mika's voice flew from her mouth before she could stop it and, figuring that she may as well finish what she started, sucked in a breath before continuing. 'If you aren't here for _me_ , what _are_ you here for?'

'That's classified… And don't flatter yourself, brat. You may be good, but you'll never be one of us, right, Itachi?' His partner ignored him completely.

'Yeah, 'cause that's what I aspire to… A nice criminal life of running, hiding and killing from the shadows.' She scoffed, flipping him off. She hadn't meant that she'd thought they wanted to recruit her, but she wasn't going to correct him for fear of drawing attention to her situation.

Kisame was quiet for a moment as though debating on whether he'd seen and heard her correctly. Apparently, no one had disrespected him like that before and lived to tell the tale. But before he could think of a suitable response without making them even later, loud, barks of laughter shattered the silence like a hammer to a glass window.

'Wow, Sharky. Owned by a _girl_!' Again, something had alarm bells ringing in the back of Mika's mind as the third voice spoke a second time, and this time she couldn't shake the strange feeling of familiarity.

She turned in the darkness, squinting slightly as she cocked her head. ' _Why do I know that voice_?'

She hadn't realised she'd spoken out loud until the figure chuckled and began to move towards her. A normal person would have run, or at least backed away a few steps. But years of unrelenting childhood bullying had taught Mika that trying to escape usually only made things worse, so stubbornly, she stood her ground.

He stopped a few feet short of her, flashing her a grin as recognition dawned and blatantly showed on her stunned expression.

'H-Hidan?!'

His grin widened. 'The one and only.'

She stared, open-mouthed, unable to respond before Kisame piped up curiously.

'You _know_ her?' He addressed the third member almost disbelievingly, then muttered, more to himself, 'So, that's why you stopped me…'

Mika shook her head as if to clear the shock. 'B-but how… How did you–'

'How did I recognise you?' Hidan raised an eyebrow before shrugging. 'Just 'cause you dyed your hair doesn't make you a different person, seriously.'

She frowned. _Huh. That was unexpected…_

'Oh, and you stopped masking your chakra when Kisame slammed you to the floor.' _Ah, there it is._

'You idiot! He surprised me, that's all! Shark face over there is lucky you showed up when you did or there would have been some serious hell to pay.'

'Yeah, yeah. I'd love to stay and chat, but Leader- _sama_ will throw another bitch fit if I'm late again…' He waved a hand dismissively before turning to head towards the other two men. No wait, _three_ men… _When did the other one get here?_

She supressed a shudder at the newcomer that she had failed to notice, piercing green eyes with unusual red sclera glaring out from the shadows.

'Erm… okay?' She watched Hidan come to a standstill in front of the one called Itachi, throwing one more grin over his shoulder. And then they all simultaneously disappeared into the night, with the unspoken promise that he'd be coming back to 'chat' as soon as he was done with whatever they were late for left lingering in the air.

'…Well, that was weird.' She took a hesitant step in the direction she had originally been heading and, when nothing stopped her, picked up her pace. She had almost forgotten where she had been heading, but a glance up to the village clock tower had her stopping dead in her tracks. It was 5 past 11, and the store she needed closed at 11.

'…Well, shit.'

* * *

 **A/N:** So, the concept I mentioned at the beginning is the idea to start a story sort of half way through if you like. So basically, there's gonna be flash backs to explain how she got to this point and how she knows Hidan etc.

Anyone hooked? Vaguely interested? Bored and got nothing else to read so this'll do? Whatever. I'm a sucker for reviews! Apologies for any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out. Flames welcome. (Ironic, flames for The Flame Empress?)

 **Just for fun – A question:** Which, out of the four kings in standard playing cards, is the only King without a moustache?

 **And a riddle:** Poor people have it. Rich people need it. It's greater than a God and worse than the Devil. What is it?

No cheating with google, answers will come in the next chapter!


	2. First Words

**A/N:** So I decided to go ahead and continue because, let's face it, I'm a sucker for new stories. I just can't let them go without a fight!

Answer to the previous question: The King of Hearts. Kudos to those who guessed correctly. Next question at the bottom :)

Answer to the riddle: Nothing!

Disclaimer.

* * *

 **First Words**

'You're late.'

'Yeah, we bumped into a little… erm, _trouble_ along the way.' Kisame supplied, ignoring the snort of amusement from Hidan as they arrived in the sealing cave, each member taking their respective places on giant stone fingertips.

'What kind of trouble?' The leader demanded, his tone hard and commanding.

'None of your damn business…' The Jashinist mumbled, scowling when his partner, Kakuzu, provided him with a more respectful answer.

'A shinobi girl. One of Hidan's little play things, I expect.'

'Hey! I do not have 'little play things'! I'll sacrifice all your damn asses to Jashin-sama!'

'Just like you sacrificed _that_ one?' Kisame scoffed, followed by several sniggers sounding around the cave. He continued gleefully when Hidan shot him a death glare, sarcasm dripping from his words like a slow working poison. 'Or is that one little girl too much for your glorious, omnipotent god to handle?'

'Why you–'

'Enough, Hidan. Let's not delay this any further.'

'Why the hell are you only telling me that?! Damn filthy heathens over there started it…' He grumbled, but his complaining went unnoticed or simply ignored by the others as their leader spoke again.

'The sealing process remains unchanged, however it will require more time and focus this time as we are extracting the seven-tails. The higher the number of tails, the higher the price. This is why I have requested as many of you to be physically present as possible.' Their leader murmured, forming several hand seals and signalling for the others to begin. 'Now everyone, focus your energy. As always, we need a slow and steady chakra flow.'

********** Elsewhere **********

Mika was tired, and it must have been dreadfully obvious if even the usually oblivious old bar owner had warned her to catch up on some sleep.

She glared at her reflection in the mirror. Weeks of restless nights of little to no sleep was beginning to take its toll on her youthful features, the skin darkened beneath her eyes and her cheeks lacking the rosy tone they'd once held. She supposed it didn't help that she was already slim and, standing at 5 foot 6, her natural lack of cleavage and now sunken cheeks made her look frail and withered.

She grimaced. Life on the run and in hiding did not sit well with her, mentally or physically, it seemed.

Glancing at her makeup bag and nodding to herself, she picked up her toothbrush and set to work on freshening up for the morning. Last night had definitely not helped her anxious behaviour, now she had Akatsuki on her radar to watch out for as well as all the other bounty hunters. But what were they doing in River country?

She had heard that Hidan had been associated with the organisation several times before now, but they had been mere whispers on the breeze that she hadn't liked to believe. Then again, the ex-Yugakure nin was not exactly known for his love of peace. Far from it. And she'd known that all along, but still… Akatsuki was a whole other league.

A knock on her apartment front door made her yelp in surprise and unceremoniously stab herself in the gum with her toothbrush. She glowered accusingly at the offending object and she dropped it into the sink, wiping her mouth on a towel as she left the room.

She half expected it to be the missing ninja in question, but her eyes landed on the honey eyes and dark frazzled hair of her neighbour and something akin to a friend, Nagisa.

'Oh! I didn't wake you, did I?'

Mika had to roll her eyes at the subtle dig at her appearance. 'Not really, I was just getting ready. I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes?'

Nagisa's expression brightened as she nodded. 'Sure!' And off she skipped.

Festivals were never something Mika enjoyed. Too many people, too much going on. Alas, her neighbour had been thoroughly insistent on Mika accompanying her to the food festival of the Land of Rivers, and hey, who was she to say no to the one person she could call a reliable friend in this world?

A small part of her wondered if she might see a certain Akatsuki member lingering in the crowded streets. But something told her it was unlikely.

She drifted back to the bathroom on auto-pilot, her mind wandering back involuntarily to the very first festival she ever experienced.

* * *

 _A seven year old Mikazuki stood from her mud bath with a wide grin on her cherub-like face. She had just finished working particularly hard on destroying her one and only 'suitable dress for a young lady' that the orphanage had provided her current foster parents with, when she heard an irritated shout from behind._

' _MIKAZUKI NAYA. YOUR LOVELY CLEAN WHITE DRESS IS ABSOLUTELY RUINED.' As if the shouting wasn't enough, her mother figure wore heels that clicked obnoxiously loud against the flagged garden floor as she marched towards the smirking child._

' _That's just it. I can't stand this anymore. First thing in the morning, you're going straight back to the orphanage.'_

 _Mika's smirk faded quickly, replaced by an unimpressed scowl. 'I was only playing, Mrs. Haruno…'_

 _Grabbing her hand roughly, the golden haired woman scoffed in response as she yanked her down the path. 'Well, I hope you're proud of yourself. There's no time to get you cleaned up and I'm not walking around Konaha Flower festival with a child covered in muck. Here, put this on. NOW.'_

 _Without even giving her the chance to shrug into the shawl-like cloak she was being offered, it was forced over her head and secured tightly around her shoulders._

' _Right. Off we go then. Sakura, dear, it's time to go!'_

 _Mika scowled at the floor as Mebuki Haruno's biological daughter, Sakura, appeared at the bottom of the stairs, dolled up in a frilly fuchsia frock and bubble-gum pink pigtails. Her outfit only made Mika scowl harder. She would never be caught dead in such a monstrosity._

' _H-hey, Mika-san.' The pink-haired girl offered her a small smile, but she just huffed in response, her black locks falling over her eyes in defiance._

 _They made their way out of the house swiftly, Mika being dragged by the wrist the whole way there while Sakura trailed after them obediently._

' _Now, listen very carefully to me.' Not far from the main event, Mebuki knelt down on one knee to stare Mika in the eyes, and although they knew she was addressing both girls, it annoyed her to no end that she was the one being glared at. 'The diplomats from Yugakure will be here and as you both know, as one of the leading families in Konaha, I am to be one of the representing guides that will be greeting them. I need you BOTH to be on your very best behaviour. PLEASE.'_

 _The fact that Mebuki Haruno had just said please in such a manner surprised Mika enough to nod once submissively, and with a relieved sigh, the woman rose to her feet and continued down the streets to where the visitors had arrived. It had been mere convenient timing that the ninja from the village of hot water had arrived during the celebrations of the flower festival. A chance for Konaha to really make an impression on their newly accepted allies, and the village was absolutely flooded with people._

' _Lord Tatsuo. It is an honour.' Mebuki greeted a tall, greying male with a polite inclination of her head. 'My name is Mebuki Haruno. It will be my pleasure to escort you to the Hokage tower should you so wish.'_

' _The tower? Nonsense. This is my first time visiting the Leaf village. I should very much like to take a look around before we officiate anything. Need to know what I'm getting into, you see.' He smiled but it failed to meet his eyes, which remained hard._

' _Of course, my lord.'_

' _Suck up…' A younger, childish voice sounded from behind the leader of Yugakure, who merely sniffed at the interruption._

 _Mika smirked at Mebuki as she spluttered for a response, before settling with a severely undignified, 'who was that?'_

 _The male shifted slightly to the side to reveal a young boy, no more than eight years old. 'This is Hidan. He's somewhat of an adopted son of mine.' His eyes swooped over the two young girls on either side of the woman before him, an unspoken question._

' _Oh! My daughter, Sakura,' said girl curtsied prettily on cue. 'And, similar to yourself, my foster daughter, Mikazuki.' She did not curtsey. She just stared._

' _Please follow me, Lord Tatsuo, the festival begins on the main street.'_

 _Somewhere in the crowded street, Mika managed to slip away. And somewhere in the rush of the festival, she managed to 'accidentally' lose her shawl. She skipped merrily down one of the quieter alleyways in her mud covered dress and towards the back of the village where she knew no one would be._

 _Now free of her duty as 'respectable daughter', Mika settled herself in an open field near Konaha ninja academy, picking daisies and looping them together in a rough chain._

' _You look like shit!'_

 _Her head snapped up in surprise, golden-topaz irises locking with teasing magenta ones. It was the boy from before._

 _Sticking her nose in the air and turning away from him, she snorted. 'You shouldn't say that word.'_

' _What? Shit?'_

 _She whipped her head back around to glare accusingly at the boy._

' _N'aww, does the sweet little goody-two-shoes not like that word? How about a different one? How about fuck?'_

 _Mika gasped, standing up to her full size and unfortunately still having to tilt her head back to glower at him. 'Shut up!'_

 _They stared each other down briefly, before the defiant boy broke down into a fit of mocking laughs. 'Is that the best you got? That's pathetic, kid.'_

' _Don't you 'kid' me! You look the same age!'_

' _Oh yeah? How old are you?'_

'… _Seven.'_

 _A grin spread across his features and Mika growled inwardly. 'So you_ are _younger. Which means you have to do as I say!'_

' _No way!'_

' _Yes way. Also, I'm a guest of this village, so you have to make me happy. You can start by getting me something to eat!'_

 _For a second, he thought she was actually going to do it. Until she launched at him. He landed on the grass with a soft 'oof', momentarily stunned before she managed to scratch his cheek with her nails._

 _Seconds later, he flipped them over and had her hands pinned beneath his knees as he straddled her stomach. 'So, you do have some fight in you!'_

 _Mika only stuck her tongue out in response as she squirmed beneath his weight._

' _HIDAN. WHERE ARE YOU?'_

' _Aw man, here we go…' The boy grumbled, clambering to his feet faster than any normal eight year old should be able to. 'Gotta run, squirt. See you around!'_

 _And with that, he was gone._

* * *

Mika had to smile at the memory.

That was the first time she had ever met Hidan, and she couldn't hold back the eye roll upon remembering his very first words to her.

' _You look like shit.'_

It was so typical of him. It seemed like a lifetime ago, their first meeting. It had been so long since she last saw him, almost five years if she counted correctly, and each and every time he popped up in their crazily interwoven lives, he never failed to surprise her.

She also allowed herself a small laugh as she recalled Mebuki Haruno's face upon discovering the revealed state of her foster daughters outfit, though she seemed to be the only adult who even noticed, let alone cared. That following morning, as Mebuki had promised, they had begun their journey back to the orphanage in the land of Rivers where Mika was quickly gaining the reputation of the 'troublesome child that nobody could put up with for longer than two months'.

The staff there had even started a series of bets whenever a family expressed an interest in her, though Mika didn't care. She hated them all.

* * *

 **A/N:** My first flashback. What did you think? Was I clear enough? Obviously I improvised on certain details that are unknown in canon, so I hope they were up to standard.

Question of the day: What is the longest word in the English Dictionary?

Same question, but a riddle: What is the longest word in the English Dictionary?

Answers in the next chapter :)


	3. Some Things Never Change

**A/N:** Thank you to the moon and back to all those who had read/reviewed and followed/favorited this story, it means a lot. Seriously :)

Answer to previous question: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I kid thee not. Apparently it's some form of lung disease, but why it needs 45 letters is beyond me. If you're sat there right now trying to say that out loud, good luck.

Answer to the riddle: Smiles, because there's a mile between each 's'!

Disclaimer.

* * *

 **Some Things Never Change**

'Man, I swear that damn process will be the _death_ of me…' Hidan flexed his fingers as he stretched his arms out in front of him, smirking at his own joke.

'If you don't quit your complaining, then _I'll_ be the death of you.' His partner grumbled, earning a scowl from the Jashinist.

'Oh not that again, Kakuzu.'

'Urgh, just shut up, the both of you. I can't take any more of your arguing, yeah!' Deidara, the only blonde Akatsuki member, groaned from his position on the statue's other hand.

'Tell that to him, he started it!' Hidan shot back, jabbing a thumb to his partner on the stone finger beside him. 'Anyway. I'm out of here.'

'Oh? And where are you so eager to rush off to, Hidan-kun?' Kisame sneered, earning the intentional glare he was hoping for.

'None of your damn business. I'll see you heathens later.' He muttered irritably, disappearing in a puff of grey smoke.

'Kakuzu.'

Said man's pale green eyes drifted to their leaders silhouette in response.

'I want you to keep an eye on him. More so than usual.'

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow but refrained from voicing his opinion. 'Fine. Then I'll be leaving as well.'

'Good job everyone, I shall be in contact when we receive word on the next target.'

********** Elsewhere **********

It had been four days since she had encountered the Akatsuki members, and Mika was beginning to believe that she had actually seen the last of them. Forcing herself to relax, she rolled onto her back and stared at the bland ceiling as she concentrated on some gentle, deep breathing exercises. She was finally, just beginning to slip into unconsciousness when her eyes suddenly snapped open to an unidentified sound.

It sounded almost like cutlery being rattled? _Strange. Did I imagine it?_

Shaking her head, she tried to drift back to sleep, but every nerve in her body was now on high alert, so after much deliberation, she sighed and sat up in defeat. _Another sleepless night. Great._

Slipping into some fluffy socks she kept in the bedside table drawer, Mika traipsed solemnly into her living room, flipping on the light as she entered.

'Do you know how fucking cold it is in this room? Never heard of central heating?'

Letting out an unladylike squeak and clutching profusely at her chest, Mika jumped thee foot in the air as her heart pounded in her ribcage. 'Damn bastard, you almost gave me a heart attack!'

Hidan cackled at her from his casual position on the armchair in the corner, sitting sideways with his legs slung over the arm. 'Ah~, you should see your face.'

'Fuck you! What are you doing here and how did you get in?!'

He snorted and rolled his eyes, ignoring her questions. 'I see your language is as pleasant as ever.'

'Yeah well, I learnt from the best… Now what are you _doing_ here?'

'Isn't it obvious? I'm visiting an old acquaintance!' He grinned, knowing the unfamiliar term would irritate her.

To his dismay, she ignored the jibe, her amber eyes choosing to glance at the wall clock hanging above the kitchen doorway instead. 'At 2am?'

'Yeah well, it was either that or come back in the morning, and Jashin knows it's a sure way to hell to disturb _you_ in the mornings…'

Groaning, Mika slapped a hand over her face and slowly let it slide down her cheek. She refrained from reminding him that he had, technically, just disturbed her in the morning anyway. That was when her eyes landed on something in his hands.

'Hidan.'

'What?' He noticed her point of interest and dropped his own gaze to his hands, where a plate that held a half-eaten senbei was sat. The exact one she'd been saving for her breakfast the following day. _The sound of cutlery being rattled…_ 'Ohhhh, yeah. About that…'

He suddenly ducked at the lamp that had been sent flailing through the air aimed straight for his head. He managed to quickly relocate the item of food onto the table just seconds before Mika landed on him, the force of her pounce knocking both him and the armchair backwards.

Hidan caught her wrists before she could even aim, and soon had her flipped onto her back with her hands pinned beneath his knees as he straddled her stomach. He let out a short laugh. 'Some things never change…'

'What do you want? I'm tired, I'm annoyed and now my back hurts. Just tell me what you want.'

He reeled back in mock surprise, hands held up in a 'not guilty' fashion, but it just reminded her that he didn't even need his hands to hold her in place. 'I don't want anything. I'm hurt that you would insinuate such a thing!'

'Urgh. Whatever. I'm so not in the mood to play your games.'

'Why'd you dye your hair?'

'What?' The question caught her off guard, and she blinked up at him blankly.

'Your hair… Why'd you dye it?'

'Because I was bored of black.'

'But why red?'

'Why not red?'

'You never complained about the colour before.'

'Well it's not something I go round yelling about!'

'…So why did you really dye it?'

Mika huffed in irritation. God, she'd forgotten how persistent he could be. 'I'll tell you if you get off me.'

The Jashinist debated with himself momentarily, evidently thoroughly enjoying himself in his game of… whatever it was. She gave him a quick final shove as he started to stand, unbalancing him enough for him to wobble slightly, and that was good enough for Mika.

'I dyed it because I don't want to be found.' She answered truthfully, though he had thoroughly scuppered that plan when he instantly recognised her a few nights ago.

'By who?'

'Nope, that's all you're getting. Now get out of my house, you idiot. Come back in the morning, if you must. I'll be up.'

He looked about to protest, but suddenly changed his mind and sauntered towards the door. 'Fine, whatever. But you _better had_ be up, seriously…'

As soon as he had gone, Mika stood and scowled for a good 10 minutes at the armchair still lying on its back on the floor. Then she scowled even harder and more determinedly when she realised in disdain that he was, in fact, right.

Some things never changed.

* * *

 _It was raining when she saw him again. Aged nine and more stubborn than ever, Mika had crept away from the usually watchful eye of the current family she was living with in the Hidden Sound._

 _They had travelled East to their neighbouring village hidden in hot water. 'A pleasant family day out,' the mother had described it to be, while the father had simply nodded in agreement. So far Mika had just found it boring. So what if the scenery was pretty? Who cares? She wanted to play!_

 _The young foster couple had been admiring one of the hot springs gardens when she had managed to lose their attention, running freely to her hearts content through the wide streets. Mika had run until she'd found a reasonably quiet training ring, which appeared to be currently unoccupied. She was about to emerge from the tree line when a movement across the field caught her attention. His amethyst irises stood out even from this distance, and she had clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms._

 _Using all her self-taught stealth skills, she crept forward in his blind spot, planning to tackle him and take him by surprise, but her plans were abruptly ended when something heavy collided with her from behind. She scrabbled with the unknown offender for several moments before she found herself lying on her back with her wrists secured on either side of her head, glaring with all her might into piercing magenta eyes._

' _Urgh! How did you…' A quick glance to the side told her that the Hidan she had been stalking was just a shadow clone, and she watched in dismay as it flashed her a cocky grin before dissipating into the air. So he'd known she was there all along? Now who was stalking who?_

' _What, are you following me?' He smirked down at her as she worked harder on burning holes through his head with her eyes. 'You can't beat me, I'm bigger than you remember?'_

' _Shut up!' She growled, but her insult only served to amuse him further._

' _Not that again… Don't you know how to insult someone properly? Repeat after me: Fuck. Off.'_

' _Get off me!' She wriggled in vain beneath his weight, failing miserably._

' _Not until you say it!' He sang, his eyes dancing as he silently taunted her._

' _You can't sit on me forever!'_

'… _challenge accepted!' It probably wasn't her best idea to put such an idea in his head, both being as stubborn as they were, but several hours later as the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds again she finally caved._

' _Alright, you win… Fmmkff…' She mumbled, back and arms completely numb from being in that position for so long._

' _What was that? Sorry, I didn't quite catch it.'_

' _I said, FUCK OFF!' She screamed, giving one last thrash for good measure before he leapt off her and out of her range._

' _I told you so!' He laughed at her feral expression, though it was sufficiently ruined by the way her fringe fell loosely over one eye and how her pony tails were now completely wonky._

' _I hate you.' She hissed, stomping past him as she pulled out her hair ties, letting her black locks flow freely over her shoulders. It had a healthy shine when the sun came out, he noticed, a glow that almost matched her eyes when she was angry._

 _She continued to stomp all the way back to where her foster parents were frantically searching streets and calling her name as though they were seriously concerned, but Mika knew they weren't really. If they had been, they wouldn't have sent her back two days later. But they did, so there we go._

* * *

Hidan found his partner in the cheapest, skankiest looking hotel he could find. He'd known exactly where to look, since it was so damn typically of that old miser.

He shrugged off his cloak as he entered the room where the faint chakra signature was flickering, and rolled his eyes when he noticed that Kakuzu had already claimed the bed. He knew better than to ask if a second room had been booked, his partner was far too much of a cheapskate to part with money like that 'unnecessarily', as he'd put it. _Guess I'm on the floor again then… Selfish, cheap bastard._

He lay on his back as he stared at nothing in particular, his mind elsewhere as he drifted into a restless slumber. If Kakuzu noticed, he didn't say anything. But that didn't come as a surprise to the Jashinist either. His partner wasn't exactly what you'd call predictable, but he could be incredibly obvious where money was concerned, since he was completely disinterested in anything _but_ money.

It had been a while since he had dreamed of her, but that night he did. Long, twisted dreams of memories and fantasies mingled into one throughout the night as he slept, with short periods of consciousness in between.

It shouldn't have been surprising to him to find that he was actually looking forward to the morning, but it did. As it always did when he found himself excited to see her. He didn't know what it was about her that made her so damn fun to mess with, but whatever it was, he didn't care.

Until she stopped being entertaining, he would continue to pester and play with her in as many ways as he knew how. And tomorrow would be no different.

* * *

 **A/N:** What do you guys think about Hidan's character? Anyone think his OOC?

I'm trying to write him as best as I see him portrayed, and I think he's one of the 'fun' members of Akatsuki, much like Deidara, I think they can take a joke and would thoroughly enjoy having someone to annoy like this :P

Question: How long is the longest recorded flight of a chicken?

Riddle: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?

Answers revealed in the next chapter!


	4. The Closet

**A/N:** You start to learn a bit more about Mika's fire technique in this one, I'm interested to see what you think! Reviews are the love.

Answer: 13 seconds! Got to give that chicken some credit for trying though right? Bet it was bloody knackered after that :P

Riddle: A stamp :)

Disclaimer.

* * *

 **The Closet**

If there was one thing Mikazuki Naya had learnt while growing up, it was that kids could be very cruel. Far more so than any grown man or woman, their childish innocence shielding them from any prosecutions they may have faced, and effectively failing to teach them right from wrong.

She wasn't particularly fond of children, but she didn't hate them either. In fact, she rarely batted an eyelid at them anymore. So that night, she was surprised when she saw their faces again, the faces that had once haunted her so often and so deeply in her sleep.

* * *

' _Oh Mikazuki. Not another failed family.'_

 _Mika stared up at the woman in charge of the orphanage. She was a tall, slender woman, with pale blonde hair that curled around her defined cheek bones, blue eyes narrowing in exasperation as she stared back._

' _You'll never get anywhere in life like this. You know that, don't you?'_

 _Mika only dipped her head in response. She may only have been ten, but she did not appreciate being spoken down to like this. The woman wrapped her cool fingers around Mika's wrist, pulling her into the play room where the other children were sat._

' _Wait here. I have to sort out your paperwork.'_

 _She glared after her retreating figure with hatred, hatred for all the stupid adults in the world that thought they could pass her around like a rag doll, while she was left just sitting pretty for her new owners._

' _Hey, look who's back!'_

' _Does it surprise you?'_

' _Not really. She's more trouble than she's worth. That's what the grown-ups say.'_

 _Mika spun around, eyes seeming to glow furiously as she bared her teeth at the intruders who had dared invade her moment of fury. Two boys who she recognised as Aki and Jiro, and a girl she'd never seen before stood in a semi-circle around her small frame._

' _Why do you wear those stupid pigtails?' Aki snorted._

' _Yeah, they make you look like a baby, don't you think Natsumi?' The girl beside them giggled and nodded, but made no comment. Jiro reached out to give a sharp tug on one of Mika's pigtails, making her wince and snatch it back._

' _Don't touch me!' She hissed, grating her teeth to avoid an all-out brawl._

' _No one will ever adopt you if you look like that, stupid.' Jiro folded his arms across his chest and frowned as Aki flicked her on the forehead and agreed._

 _Natsumi looked about to speak, but Mika turned her back on them and started to move away, her fists clenching and unclenching as she tried to leave._

' _Hey, we aren't done with you!' Aki grabbed her arms and pulled them both back with a painful, sharp tug. She cried out slightly and tried to wriggle free, but Jiro moved secure her legs as they pinned her down._

' _I say we give her a new look, don't you?' The latter grinned, nodding his head at Natsumi, who Mika now realised was holding a pair of scissors. Her eyes widened impossibly, thrashing harder against their hold as they pinned her to the floor. She hated this. She felt so useless. So helpless. She_ hated _it!_

 _The girl moved to kneel beside Mika's head, holding up one fistful of hair while the other moved with her scissors to the top of the pigtail._

' _S-stop! Get off me!' Squeezing her eyes shut to contain the tears that were threatening to spill, the ordeal was over in seconds, and all too soon the weight on her arms and legs were released as sniggering and joking rang in her ears. Lifting one shaking hand to her hair, she let out a sob when she found nothing to grip._

 _Her flaming golden irises shot to the trio, and before she knew what she was doing, she had thrown herself at the nearest target and was clawing recklessly at their face. Natsumi, her chosen target, froze momentarily in shock. But it wasn't long before the boys joined in and a small crowd of children had gathered to egg them on._

' _WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? AKI. JIRO.'_

 _The orphanage owner's voice parted the crowd as she separated the boys from the fray by their ears, flinging them off into different directions. Then she turned her sharp gaze to where Mika had backed off to, glowering at the floor in a mixture of frustration and hurt._

' _Mikazuki. Go to my office immediately.'_

 _Her head snapped up, her eyes wide and pleading. 'No miss, please, I'm sorry! I won't fight anymore, I swear I–'_

' _MY OFFICE. NOW.'_

 _Stepping back slightly, she threw one last desperate glance at the woman, before sniffing and slinking away to await her punishment. She knew what was coming. It was the closet. It was always the closet._

* * *

Bolting upright in her bed, Mika gently lifted one hand to run her fingers through her now long red tresses tenderly. She had always hated short hair, which is why she'd grown it out again, despite that. Then her fingers rested on her glistening cheek. Wet. She was crying.

Pathetic.

Fisting her free hand in the duvet, she lifted it to dry her face hurriedly, as though the small saltwater trails would burn through her skin and scar her for life if she allowed them to remain on her cheeks. It wasn't the bullies that had scared her, it never had been. Sure they had hurt her and made her feel like shit a hell of a lot of times, but none of that could ever compare to the closet. It was small and dark and dingy and cold. And lonely. So very lonely. Always alone…

Shaking her head vigorously, she padded silently into the living room, eyes landing on the overturned armchair that still lay across the carpet. She let out a long, steady breath.

It wasn't that she hated Hidan. It was just that, more often than not, he left a whole lot of trouble in his wake and then when he was done wreaking havoc, he left. It was the way it had always been.

She supposed she would call him her first friend. The first person to ever really acknowledge her in a way that wasn't entirely condescending, he actually gave her a chance to prove herself. He paid attention to her when it was necessary and – usually – ignored her when she needed him to. He knew how to push her buttons perfectly, but he also knew her limits, to which she was thankful he never attempted to reach.

A quiet, almost timid knock drew her attention to the door across the room. She frowned. That was in no way, shape or form a Jashinist knock.

'Himika? It's Nagisa, open up!'

Crossing the floor in a matter of seconds, she complied. 'Nagisa? What's wrong?'

'Erm, well…' She paused, glancing down at her hands as she wrung them together nervously. 'I just wanted to check everything was alright? I heard erm… noises? In the night…'

'Oh… OH! No, no everything's fine, I was just–' her eyes flicked to the chair over her shoulder. 'Rearranging some furniture…' Then as an afterthought, she quickly added, 'I couldn't sleep.'

'Ah I see! I was kind of worried about you for a while there! I thought you had a burglar or something!'

She had to really restrain herself from politely informing the woman that if she had actually had a burglar, checking on her the following morning would not have helped. At all.

Instead, Mika forced a smile and thanked her neighbour for her concern. She was just about to try and subtly get rid of Nagisa when an obnoxiously loud voice sounded from down the corridor.

'Well, shit. You really _are_ up at this time!'

Nagisa jumped violently in surprise, spinning around to come face to face with a bare male chest.

'W-w-what erm, I-I was j-just… Erm, who…?' She stuttered, face heating up shyly.

Rolling her eyes and stepping around the poor flustered woman, Mika glared at the visitor. 'Would it kill you to put some clothes on?'

'Why? What's wrong with this?' He blinked, seeming genuinely confused.

She ignored him in favour of comforting Nagisa, who was watching the exchange with a bright red complexion. 'Don't worry. He's… an old friend. He's a bit on the stupid side though, so I'd run now if I were you.'

'Hey!'

Taking this cue to leave, Nagisa managed a half laugh as though debating on whether or not Mika was actually joking, before scuttling away down the corridor.

Sighing, Mika stepped back, holding the door open just enough for Hidan to step inside. When he didn't move, she raised an eyebrow. 'What now?'

'You fucking called me stupid!'

'You _are_ stupid, stupid. Now either come in or go bother someone else.' Folding her arms over her chest, they stared each other down momentarily before Hidan finally broke the silence, chuckling at her expression.

'Let's go for a walk.'

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. 'A walk?'

'Yeah you know, you put one foot in front of the other and move like th–'

'HAR HAR, very funny.' She huffed in irritation before turning around and muttering to herself, 'I'll give you a walk. How does a long walk off a short pier sound, hm? Damn fool got nothing better to do than pester me…'

Several minutes later, Mika found herself strolling along unceremoniously beside the unruly zealot, who was humming an unknown melody merrily with his arms folded behind his head. The sun glinted brightly in the sky as they walked, and she had to wonder what his real agenda for being here really was.

He seemed to take the lead in the walking, so she curiously allowed him to direct them to wherever the hell their destination was. She shouldn't have been surprised when they arrived at an unoccupied training ground.

He stopped in the centre and threw her a mischievous grin. 'Let's see what you got then!'

She blinked at him. 'You're kidding right?'

'Come on~, it'll be fun. Besides I've been holed up in a cave the past four days, I need to stretch my muscles!'

She rolled her eyes, deciding that she really didn't want to know what he meant by that and, placing one hand on her hip, she shifted her weight. 'It's so nice to know I'm the guinea-pig.'

'Well, if you won't come willingly, I'll just have to force you…' He grinned manically and disappeared from sight, leaving Mika had only a split second for her eyes to widen before he reappeared behind her, his breath hot on her neck.

'Damn it!' She gasped, leaping out of range and spinning around mid-air to cast a darkened glare on her target. The instant her feet hit the ground, he charged again, smirking when she dropped her posture into a defensive state.

'Not gonna be enough I'm afraid!' He yelled, landing a full-force kick to her now crossed arms in her futile attempt to block. She flew backwards, back colliding heavily with a stone wall that she swore crumbled away a bit on the impact.

'Ow! That hurt, you bastard!'

He responded by sticking his tongue out while simultaneously pulling the lower lid of one of his eyes down, mocking her. He knew exactly how to rile her, and she knew exactly what he was doing. They both knew he was winning.

She sprang to her feet with a growl, this time taking a different stance, one poised to attack. 'Fine. Have it your way.'

She darted forward, forcing chakra to her feet to enhance her speed as she raced toward him, pulling her fist back as she went. He stood still, almost calmly as she ran, waiting patiently for her to arrive, but when the time finally came for her to deliver her attack, she mimicked his earlier action and vanished before his eyes.

'What the–'

A smug chuckle sounded from behind, and he just barely managed to throw himself sideways to avoid the otherwise inevitably nasty blow to his face.

'My own damn move used against me… Conniving bitch…' He grumbled, more to himself as he paced slightly, his violet eyes never leaving her haughty golden ones.

'Well? I thought you were gonna force me!' Her eyes glinted mischievously as he lowered into a crouch, one foot sliding back in preparation to push himself forward. She had the upper hand in terms of her small size and speed, but if it came down to a physical battle of strength, she had no doubt she'd be on the floor in no time.

He charged, but this time she was ready. Her hands flew together in a flurry of hand signs that the Jashinist recognised all too well.

'Shit!' He hissed, skidding to a halt just seconds too late as he collided head on with a raging whirlwind of flames that erupted around Mika's body. An impenetrable shield, and a damn good one at that. She was quicker than the last time they'd fought, and apparently more scheming. Reaching behind him to grip the giant, three-pronged scythe on his back, he smirked. This was going to be harder than he thought.

But then, he always liked a challenge.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this chapter sucks, the next one will be better I promise. And if anyone is wondering, Nagisa _does_ have a role to play, I'm just getting her personality across first :)

Question time: How many noses do slugs have?

Riddle me this: What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?

Till next time :)


	5. Her Neighbour's Brother

**A/N:** I hope the way I've described Mika's ability is clear enough, it's not a Kekkei Genkai, but it is something she developed herself.

Answer to question: A slug has 4 noses, believe it or not!

And the riddle answer is silence! I like that one :)

Disclaimer.

* * *

 **Her Neighbour's Brother**

'OW. BE GENTLE!'

'Shut up, you baby, I _am_ being gentle!'

'Just leave it, already!'

'I'm almost done, for God's sake!'

Hidan continued to complain as Mika dabbed his arm again, watching in mild fascination at how quickly the burn was already healing by itself. No normal human should be able to regenerate this fast, surely? But then, not much surprised her anymore. She'd seen her fair share of oddities in the world, being an orphan with over seventeen different foster families in life would do that to you.

'There. See that wasn't so hard, was it?'

He shot her an icy glare as she smirked, moving to wash her hands in the river she had previously been using to soothe his singed arms. They elapsed into a mildly comfortable silence as Mika sat back from the water, wafting her hands in the air to dry. She stared at the waves as they sparkled and lapped against the grass, losing herself in thought as she wondered how long they'd been out for.

Hidan had won in the end, he always did, but she had definitely improved. She had to admit she had been practicing her taijutsu a lot recently, annoyed with her severe lack of skill in that area. It usually left her at a massive disadvantage in combat, especially when her flame wall of defence failed her.

'You rely on that jutsu too much, seriously.' Hidan suddenly commented, pulling her out of her trance as he regarded her with calculating eyes. 'It's not hard to figure out its weaknesses. Then what happens when your enemy breaks through? You're screwed, that's what.'

'…I know.' She mumbled, letting out a breath as she turned back to the river. She had always liked this country. It was green and fresh and unpolluted. Even the visiting ninja and tourists made an effort to keep it clean where they could. She tore her eyes from the serenity and met his uncharacteristically calm gaze. 'It's too expensive to train officially, so I guess I just make do with what I've got.'

'Geez you sound like Kakuzu…'

She raised an eyebrow in question, but he ignored her in favour of asking, 'don't you work?'

'…I sing.' She smirked at the odd look he threw her before she elaborated. 'In a bar every Saturday night. The pay's pretty shit but it's enough, besides, who wouldn't want a job that you loved doing?'

'Hm, I guess.' He mumbled, suddenly seeming distracted. He opened his mouth to speak again but a deep, gruff voice cut him off from behind.

'There you are, Hidan.'

Mika flinched, jumping to her feet and whirling around to face the culprit. It was that same stranger from the other night, the one she hadn't sensed approach, like she hadn't this time. Her wide eyes relaxed slightly upon remembering that he was a colleague of sorts to her companion, but she remained on her feet all the same, body tense and untrusting.

'Oh great, how'd you find me?'

'Enough, Hidan. We leave for Rōran in the Land of Wind immediately. Time is money, after all.'

'Fuck that, why would I want to go to that shitty place?'

'Because, you fool, there's a particularly oblivious Lord hanging around there with a rather hefty bounty over his head. Akatsuki would benefit greatly from this kind of… _investment_.' Mika supressed a shudder at the way his gravelly voice stressed that last word, her attention never leaving his strange two-toned eyes.

Hidan scoffed irritably. 'More like _you_ would benefit. No way am I getting sucked into one of your damn bounty hunts again. Go by yourself.'

The older male just glared, and Mika spared a moment to be annoyed that during the whole exchange he hadn't even batted an eyelid in her direction. Was she really that unworthy? A scowl had crept over her features before she could stop it, and it failed to go unnoticed by the Jashinist.

'See look at that, you're even pissing Mika off.'

Her eyes snapped to his, silently warning him not to bring her into this. Hell, she wasn't going to get involved with the likes of Akatsuki any more than she had to. One member was enough, thank you very much.

'Very well.' Kakuzu replied eventually, turning his cool, hard stare to the redhead. 'I shall return in three days.'

One final, long moment passed, before he tore his gaze from her petrified state and left as silently as he'd come.

'Fucking old miser. To hell if he thinks I'm trekking through that damn desert for the sake of one guy.'

'Who is he?' She asked, still staring off in the direction he'd disappeared.

'Kakuzu? He's the partner I'm forced to work with under Akatsuki. Could be worse though, I could be stuck with Tobi.' He smirked as he thought of the persistently perky member pestering the life out of his beloved Senpai.

Standing up and stretching, he picked up his hitai-ate that was laying on the ground after his healing session and switched topics. 'So who are you on the run from?'

She spluttered incoherently, choking on air in shock at his casual way of bringing that up. 'N-no one you'd know.' She managed awkwardly.

'Aw, come on, you can tell your old buddy!' He teased, grinning as he tied the material in a tight knot at the back of his neck.

'Why are you such a pain?' She grumbled, reaching up to rub her temples. He just chuckled in response, waiting encouragingly for her to reply, but she held her ground.

'I should get back. I promised Nagisa I'd go with her to visit her brother later.'

'Why does she need _you_ there?' He questioned, somewhat peeved.

'Because her brother is a psychopath. I told her not to go but she somehow feels an unwavering need to visit him since he's her only living relative, so I guess I'm her moral support.' Rolling her eyes as she prepared to leave, she pulled tied her jacket around her waist and started towards the village.

'Hey Mika?'

She paused mid-step, glancing over her shoulder to where Hidan was still sat by the river. He didn't know what it was about the situation, but something niggled in the back of his mind uneasily, so he spoke as seriously as he could.

'Be careful.'

She started to respond with a sarcastic remark, but upon seeing his oddly concerned expression, settled with a nod before turning on her heel and continuing her journey home.

* * *

********** Later **********

'Are you sure it's not too much? I mean, it's only a little café…'

'Nagisa. You look fine. Don't worry about it, you're just going for a coffee!' Mika did her best to offer her a reassuring smile, but it faltered considerably as she took in her friend's miserable expression. 'Nagisa?'

Finally meeting her gaze, her neighbour gave a brief smile that failed to meet her clouded honey eyes. 'It's nothing. It'll be fine, you're right.'

Unconvinced, Mika placed one hand on the shorter woman's shoulder. 'You're worried he's up to no good again, huh?'

She nodded after a moment, her dark chocolate locks bobbing with the motion. Unable to think of anything to counter her worry, Mika held out an arm for her friend to link. She did so gratefully, lifting her chin and plastering a brave expression across her face, indicating that she was ready.

The pair walked solemnly but determinedly down the stairs of their apartment building, descending out onto the street and following the cobbled roads until they reached the café Nagisa had arranged to meet her brother in.

'You ready?' Mika glanced at her one last time, willing to turn around and run back to their home should she change her mind. It slowly dawned on her that, somehow, she seemed to have developed a sort of soft spot for the girl that now clung to her elbow, even if she was a complete ditz.

She gave one short nod, and they entered the building, the bell overhead dinging quietly as the door swung open. They located him easily enough, his large, angular frame sitting calmly at the back of the room.

Mika had never met the man before, but she had heard a lot about him. How he'd abandoned his younger sister to fend for herself at the age of seven, while he went off into the world to chase his own wild dreams of power and destruction. How he was wanted in over eight lands for the murder of various blacksmiths and artisans, who had all failed to make a creation as strong as he had hoped. She also knew about how he quite often returned now that Nagisa was working and bringing in a reasonable income, how he scrounged off her like there was no tomorrow.

He looked as power-hungry as he sounded. With a square, well-defined chin and small narrowed black eyes, Mika couldn't hold back her glower as they made their way over to his table.

'H-Hōki…' Her neighbour greeted him, nervously sweeping some loose bangs behind her ear.

'Nagisa,' His eyes swept over the girl beside his sister with undisguised suspicion. '…and friend?'

'Oh! Right, this is Mika. She's my neighbour.'

'Pleasure.' She muttered dryly. She didn't care if he knew what she thought of him. He deserved all the hatred he got.

'No, no. The pleasure is mine.' He smiled a dark, amused smile, the sort of smile you'd see on a sadistic, backstabbing murderer just seconds before he turned and slashed your neck. It gave her chills just looking into those cold, dead pupils, but she refused to let him see her fear and threw back her own, 'polite' smile.

They sat quickly and Nagisa fumbled with the menu, picking at one of the peeling edges until a waitress came over and took their order, thus saving the menu from her torture.

'So, little sister. I hope life is treating you well.' Hōki conversed casually.

'No more than usual.' Mika snapped before Nagisa could reply, not missing a beat. She knew his game; he was after money again.

'Ah, forgive me, but why are you here?'

Nagisa blanched as her friend replied calmly, 'I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet the brother that Nagisa here speaks of so… _regularly_.'

'…I see.' A sly smile flickered across his face. So, he knew that she knew.

The rest of the meeting passed by quickly, with Mika only dropping the occasional subtle comment that suggested he had an ulterior motive for his visit. When the time eventually came for them to part, she couldn't have been more thankful. It must have showed, because as they were walking away, Nagisa mentioned it.

'You're in a good mood all of a sudden…'

'Hm? Oh I'm just eager to get home, I suppose. Long day.' She knew her neighbour would probably see through the lie, but she didn't care. Her hatred for her neighbour's brother hadn't exactly been disguised. They rounded a corner onto another street when Nagisa suddenly piped up.

'Oh no! I'm so sorry Mika I promised work I'd cover the evening shift, you don't mind if I leave you here do you? I would have said no, but they're down by three staff members and I'd feel bad if the remaining few were left–' She babbled guiltily, only pausing when Mika's chuckling interrupted.

'Nagisa, its fine. I'm a big girl, I think I can make it home on my own.' She grinned when her neighbour breathed a sigh of relief.

'Thanks again for coming with me, I'll see you tomorrow maybe?'

Nodding and waving goodbye as Nagisa hurried away, Mika turned to continue her walk home, but was surprised to find someone blocking her path. Her eyes widened briefly before her expression turned into a grimace as she snarled, 'What the hell do _you_ want?'

* * *

 **A/N:** Anyone care to hazard a guess as to whom exactly Mika is on the run from? Or who's giving Mika trouble now. She just can't catch a break, can she?

Question, a bit different this time: Alaska law says that you can't look at a moose from an aeroplane. True or False?

And a riddle for you: A horse is on a 24 foot chain and wants an apple that is 26 feet away. How can the horse get to the apple?

Over and out.


	6. Fight or Flight

**A/N:** You may have noticed in my other stories, cliché as it is, I love the whole damsel in distress theme. But yeah, it can get old, so I promise to keep it to a minimum after this chapter! Unless you're enjoying it too?

Answer to the question: I shit you not, that statement is true… No words.

And the riddle: The chain isn't attached to anything! :)

Disclaimer.

* * *

 **Fight or Flight**

'What the hell do _you_ want?' Mika snarled, hands fisting into tight balls at her sides as she glowered at the man before her. Hōki, _that bastard_.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, but his casual façade remained as he regarded her calmly, hands stuffed in his pockets as he leaned against a lamppost. 'I couldn't help but notice you appear to hold some slight hostility against me. It's only natural for a guy to wonder why, right?'

She debated for a moment, he obviously knew that she was well and truly aware of his _circumstances_ , but did she want to humour him just yet? 'Why do you think?'

'Ahh, I see how it's going to be.' He allowed a small smirk to cross his face as he moved away from where he was leaning. His black eyes were alight with amusement at her tense posture while he advanced, his feet carrying him in a small circle around her body before coming to a reluctant halt in front of her. 'I'm curious, why don't you run?'

'Why should I?'

'Let's not play games now, Mika. We both know what I'm capable of. What I've done.'

Her breath caught in her throat as his much larger frame loomed over her, a sickly smile tugging at his lips. She wanted nothing more than to slap him senseless until he could no longer summon the strength for a single muscular twitch, but she held her ground firmly. Mika wasn't stupid, and she genuinely _was_ hoping to avoid getting into a fight she knew she'd lose.

'What's your point?' She questioned, hoping to talk him round.

Unable to hold back the flinch when he suddenly threw his head back and laughed, Mika's jaw fell open slightly at the sight. _Was he really that insane?_

'My, my. You certainly are entertaining. It almost makes me want to let you go…' Her eyes widened slightly at the confession, but still, she made no move to run as he continued. 'But you see, I'm in a bit of a pickle. There are certain… 'acquaintances' of mine that are being particularly pushy over a small debt I seem to have acquired, and I can't help but notice the similarities in your face to this…' He tucked his hand in his pocket momentarily, before pulling it out to reveal a folded piece of poster paper. He offered it to Mika smugly, eyes glinting with further amusement as she accepted the object and unfolded the creases.

'W-when did…' She gasped, her heart rate increasing rapidly as her eyes scanned the page. Shaking her head, she crumpled the poster angrily in her palm, stuffing it into her pocket as though hiding it would erase the problem.

'I'm sure you can understand my predicament. This kind of bounty would benefit me very much.'

A glint of metal and the dangerous look that flashed through his eyes was all she needed to spring into action, leaping backwards three steps to give herself some distance before he lashed out. She growled as she made her hand sign, initiating the very jutsu that Hidan had been warning her against that morning.

The familiar flicker of chakra enhanced flames engulfed her, swirling and surrounding her in mere seconds. Temporarily safe inside her wall of fire, she closed her eyes and felt for his foreign chakra, locating it with ease and concentrating on his movements. He was stalking her, an occasional short burst of power seeping from his arms in what she could only interpret as flicking weapons at the flames, experimenting with its durability. But it was futile. The weakness this kind of jutsu held had nothing to do with the flames themselves, for not even a powerful water jutsu could extinguish these.

The flames dyed out and she locked eyes with her foe, eyebrows knitting together as she caught his wild expression. It almost terrified her into freezing, but she couldn't afford to let such a weakness be her downfall right now. She couldn't let him win. She wouldn't.

'Some pretty impressive jutsu you got there. But I'd be willing to bet even that has its little flaws.' He grinned sadistically, his circling never ceasing like a hunger-crazed lion around a trapped, startled gazelle. 'For example, just how many times can you use that, I wonder.'

She grit her teeth as he hit the first nail on the head. _Damn it_ , he was right. She was good for about two to three prolonged bursts at a time before the flames completely ate away at her chakra and left her defenceless.

'And,' he continued, his voice adopting a smug tone as he read her expression. 'I'm guessing it's the only jutsu you've really concentrated on for months, from the looks of it.'

 _Shit._ Was she that obvious?

'But most importantly...' He flipped a kunai in his hand into a ready to attack position, crouching as chakra flared around his feet. 'Its greatest weakness must be…' He charged, and despite every instinct screaming at her to run, she panicked, mimicking the same action and restarting the firewall.

It rushed around her as her heart pounded. She tried to listen for his movements over the blood roaring in her ears, but before she had a chance to, the gravel beneath her feet suddenly shifted and crumbled away.

'Ah–' She yelped as he burst from the ground beneath her boots, kunai poised and lethal.

'…FROM UNDERNEATH!' He finished, embedding the kunai deep into her leg as she cried out in shock and agony. _How had he figured it out so easily?! Why, oh why couldn't she just have run when she had the chance?_

She lashed out angrily, failing to meet her target as he danced away from her flailing arms. He roared with gleeful laughter, his black eyes wide and ecstatic with the rush of the fight.

Stumbling, she landed heavily on her knees, one hand clasping around the knife still lodged in her calf. It stung like a bitch and she knew better than to pray for a miracle, but right now, unless just that happened, her chances seemed to be dangerously low.

'I really wish you had been more polite to me earlier. I might not have gotten such a bad impression from you, had you put on an act. Maybe I wouldn't have recognised you from that description…'

She panted furiously, trying to breathe through the pain, but the wound was leaking fast and the sudden loss of blood was starting to make her light-headed.

'Don't worry, I won't drag out the pain. Places to go, people to see, you know the drill. I'm a busy man, a wanted man!' He chuckled at his own joke, before his expression darkened and his gaze grew serious. 'Here, let me help you sleep…'

Taking out an blunt-looking object from his pack, he stood over her once again, one arm raised above his head as he gripped a fistful of hair with the other, holding her head back to give him a clear shot to successfully knock her out without killing her.

She didn't mean to, but couldn't stop the noise, and she whimpered. She then preceded to hate and curse herself for such a pathetic notion. He apparently thought so too, because the sound of his crazed laughing began to ricochet around the darkened, empty street.

And then, just like that, silence. The grip on her hair loosened and she winced as she heard him grunt, bracing herself for the pain, for the blood to splatter across the gravelled floor as he slumped her over his shoulder, but it didn't come.

'Jashin, damn it! You're really starting to make a habit of this damsel thing, aren't you?'

Honestly? She could have kissed him right now.

Her golden, tear-filled eyes snapped open to meet his clouded violet ones as she let out a startled sob, staggering to her feet only to fall almost instantly back to her knees. The blood was still flowing freely from the gaping wound in her lower leg, and she bit her lip as she took in the sight. There was blood on the floor, in a place where hers hadn't fallen, but there was no body.

'H-Hidan, what happe–' He cut her off as he suddenly scooped her off the floor, careful not to scrape her leg as he started to move with her in his arms.

'Bastard got away, but I'll find him. _Jashin knows_ that I'll find him.' His voice was low and menacing, something that she, oddly enough, rarely heard from her death-loving friend.

That's the last thing she remembered before the edges of her vision began to blacken, carrying her off to the land of unconsciousness before she could even thank him.

* * *

********** Later **********

Moving silently and sticking to the shadows as expertly as possible, Hidan shut his eyes briefly as he seethed. It wasn't like him to get so worked up over something like this, but then, it wasn't exactly in his nature to go round saving people either. Twice, for that matter.

The blackened irises of the sick bastard he was hunting flickered across his mind and had him clenching his fists in rage. He had sworn to Jashin that he would find that fucker, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it. A million different ways of slow and painful torture passed through his thoughts as he followed several small blotches of a blood trail that was leading him to the back alleys of the town.

When the line of red ended, Hidan found himself staring up at an old warehouse type building, the textbook cliché hideout for a guy on the run. Really, it was laughable how perfectly predictable it was.

A smirk crossed the Jashinist's lips as he stalked up to the front door eagerly. He couldn't give a flying shit what, who or how many were on the other side, why should he _?_

 _The worst they can do to me is kill me… Oh no, wait…_ He let out a sadistic chuckle at his own thoughts before all but kicking the metal framed door in, charging forward boldly, scythe at the ready.

Several scrawny-looking henchmen greeted him who he sliced through with ease, eyes alight with crazed glee as he met the next batch with a powerful swing of his weapon. It cut down two of the slower men who failed to dodge in time, before lodging itself into the side of one of the others who had jumped a second too late, almost completely dividing him in two as it met him mid-air.

'What, that all you got?' Hidan asked, slightly disappointed. He was well aware of the pair of males sneaking their way into his blind spots either side of him, and he was more than happy to play along as the three in front darted forward to 'distract' him.

He had just finished inflicting a particularly nasty wound on the first of the decoys when he spotted his original target slinking around behind them, eyes flicking wildly in search of an exit with one arm wrapped around his stomach where Hidan had slashed earlier.

'Found ya…' He grinned, his attention now only vaguely on the men blocking his path. He took several steps forward before firing two long pikes at the already injured man, easily pinning him to a pile of crates he'd been lurking by.

The two on either side of him chose this moment to attack, and sprang into action. Each gripping twin scimitars, slicing through his mid-section flawlessly. Except, it was flawed, because they hadn't expected him to start shrieking about the pain and pulling out their weapons as they backed away in confusion.

'Fuck, that hurts, you guys have no manners, seriously.' He yanked the final offending object out from his right lung and dropped it unceremoniously to the floor.

'Wh-what the hell are you?!'

His fuchsia eyes locked with the trembling man who had spoken, giving him a malicious grin before lifting the wire connected to his main weapon. 'I'm…'

He growled under his breath as his target broke free, making a risky dash for the door behind Hidan. He swung the wire and the scythe flew into action, nicking the advancing male's neck as it flew past his shoulder.

'Your worst nightmare!' Not wasting another second, his brought the triple blades to his lips and flicked his tongue out, lapping up a single drop of blood from the edge. That was all he needed to send the bastards running for the hills in fear, the sound of his victorious laugh ricocheting around the quickly abandoned room.

He didn't care for the henchmen, they were too pathetic to even be considered as offerings for his beloved lord, so he supposed he'd be 'nice' and let them escape. But it was too late for his target. The bastard from earlier who he hadn't even bothered learning the name of.

His grin widened as he slashed at his own wrist, holding it out and allowed a dark pool of red to spatter against the dusty concrete floor. It had been a while since he'd had this much fun with a ritual, and he'd be dammed if he was going to let this one die quickly.

Hell no, this was going to be long, slow and agonisingly painful.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this chapter's a little short, but the next one will be longer I promise and there's more blasts from the past upcoming.

Hope you're liking their characterisation so far, I'm trying to keep him as in character as possible for the sake of the plot.

Question: What is the longest time between twins being born?

And of course a riddle: What goes up, but never comes down?

See you next week!


	7. Insomnia

**A/N:** So here, as promised, is a longer chapter. Not by much, but there is some fluff and pairing moments in this one, so hopefully that makes up for it.

Answer to the question: 87 days! That poor mother…

And the riddle: Your age. (Unfortunately) :P

(And congrats to StarshineRose18 who got both answers right!) ;D

Still a disclaimer.

* * *

 **Insomnia**

He shouldn't have been surprised when he found himself staring up at Mika's apartment building, or when his feet began to carry him towards the entrance without protest. Her door was locked, as expected, but he hadn't just been sitting idly during his time with Akatsuki. He'd learned a few tricks along the way.

Pulling out a senbon needle from the pack on his hip, he twisted it skilfully in the lock, allowing himself a small smirk when he heard it click open. However that smirk soon evaporated when he found himself face to face with a seriously unimpressed looking redhead. He scoffed. He preferred her natural hair colour.

'You know, if you knocked, I might actually let you in.'

He flashed her a grin, seeing that he was off the hook. 'Yeah, but where's the fun in that?'

She tutted and stalked into the kitchen. She was wearing a loose fitting T-shirt that hung to her thighs with a dark pair of shorts poking out from under the rim, and her hair lacked its usual signature pigtails on either side of her head, swishing down her back as she walked.

He made himself comfortable as she pottered around the kitchen, and the sound of pots occasionally being clinked together made him think she was tidying them away. When she was done, she walked right past without even a sparing him glance, entering her bedroom and closing the door behind her.

He listened to her rustle around for a while, before she finally poked her head through the doorway.

'I'm going to bed, please try not to destroy the place while I'm not supervising you.'

'Pfff, as if I would.'

'…So, you're not gonna leave?'

'Do you want me to?'

She thought for a minute before answering honestly. She really didn't want to be alone tonight, and she guessed she owed him for saving her earlier. 'No. You erm, can sleep in here if you're staying… I suppose.' She nodded her head backwards, gesturing to her room.

'It's been a while since I played sleepover with someone.' He chuckled as he moved to follow her in.

'Oh shut up, you imbecile.' She snapped, already irritated as she threw him a blanket from the end of her bed before snuggling under her duvet.

He turned a full circle and settled himself in the corner near the door, and she failed to hide her amusement as the action reminded her of an animal preparing to sleep.

Falling into a comfortable silence, Mika allowed herself to relax as she lay back against her pillow. It was only then that the paranoia began to set in, as it often did when the time came for sleeping. Only on this night, it was particularly heightened. Some people would call it insomnia, but she didn't care to give her condition a name. All she knew was that it was annoying as fuck.

She turned over, forcing herself to breathe normally so as not to alert her companion of her discomfort with the night. The night was dark, the dark was unknown, and the unknown was… well, unknown. And that scared her.

If the Jashinist noticed, he didn't show it. Several minutes passed, her ears twitching uncontrollably at every slight sound, the wind against the window, footsteps from the apartment overhead, the sound of Hidan's breathing. Until finally, she could bare it no more.

'Hidan?'

'Hm?'

She didn't reply, unsure of how to word her next sentence.

'What?' He pressed, rolling over to examine her silhouette as she leaned up on her elbows.

'Erm, you can…' She swallowed the lump in her throat. Why was she so nervous? It was no big deal, just a suggestion between friends. 'You can sleep on the bed if you want.'

He raised an eyebrow he knew she couldn't see through the darkness, hesitating for a moment before making up his mind. '…I knew you loved me really.' He smirked, earning himself a pillow to the face.

'Shut up or I'll change my mind… and no funny business!'

'Yeah, yeah. You're just in denial!' He clambered to his feet slowly as she scoffed, moving to stand beside the bed as Mika shifted to the edge to make room before he slipped beneath the covers.

They shuffled in silence for a moment before they were both readjusted and comfortable on opposite sides. Mika let her eyes slide shut, feeling slightly reassured that she was not quite as alone anymore, hoping the company would ease her nerves.

The wind had picked up slightly outside, but as long as the noises remained identifiable, she was fine.

She tensed as something banged close to her front door out in the apartment hallway, closely followed by drunken laughing and the sound of neighbours scraping a key against wood, failing to insert their key. Letting her shoulders sag, she released the breath she had subconsciously held at the sudden disturbance. Hidan failed to either notice or bother commenting, so she focused her attention back on a deep breathing exercise she had been working on.

The minutes ticked by uneventful, until finally, she felt her eyelids drooping tiredly. She was so close, _so close_ to sleep when something smacked loudly and suddenly against her window pane, making her bolt upright in bed as her bulging eyes shot to the window. _Just a tree branch…_

Her breaths came in short shallow pants as her racing heart slowed back to a reasonable pace. She let out a barely audible groan and flopped back onto her side, facing the window. She jolted again violently when she felt a heavy lump fall over her side, but almost instantly registered it as an arm.

'Just relax already.' Hidan had moved so that he was pressed up against her back, his arm resting lazily over her side and curling around her stomach. She would have batted him away, but something about their position made her feel safe and something akin to protected, and right now, heaven knew she needed to relax.

'You're a freaking nervous wreck.' He murmured softly from just behind her ear, then more cockily stated, 'you don't have to keep your guard up so much when you're with me. I'm fucking S-rank, seriously!'

She rolled her eyes at the smirk she could practically hear through his voice, but tried her best to oblige. She squirmed a little, readjusting so her head was tilted up slightly, giving her a clear view of the ceiling. However Hidan's hot breath on her cheek soon had her flushing and snapping it back to the side.

She cursed her luck before actually relaxing, sighing with content as she finally allowed sleep to overpower her.

 _The year of her twelfth birthday was a difficult one for Mika. Twelve, not quite a teenager and not quite a baby anymore. Not that she was ever treated her age, if she wasn't being spoken down to like a patronised little child, she was being informed that a 'young lady like herself' should act more sensibly. Really, what the hell did they want from her?!_

 _Currently sitting in the perfectly cut grass and tied by a toddler harness to the garden fence in her foster families front yard, she couldn't help but act out. She was bored, damn it. Ripping out another fistful of grass, she turned defiantly to her mother figure with a devious glint in her eyes as she released the green strands in front of her, smirking as the woman's face reddened with fury._

' _This is your final warning, young lady. You do that one more time and it's the cane for you!'_

 _Mika's nose crinkled at the thought. This particular family were god-damn strict and particularly fond of inflicting punishment on the girl, i.e. the cane. Not to say she wasn't asking for it._

 _Honestly, she was beyond caring. They could throw her out on the streets and leave her to feed out of trashcans and dumpsters right now, and she'd just be glad to see the back of them._

 _Huffing, she turned her back on her foster mother and slyly continued her game of destroy Mr and Mrs Perfect's perfectly cut lawn. When she lost interest in that game, she moved onto to destroy Mr and Mrs Perfect's perfectly painted fence panels._

 _From inside the house, the phone suddenly began to sing in its irritatingly perfect tone, and Mrs Perfect was forced to tear her death glare away from Mika's small form and run from her perfectly arranged tea set on her patio table to answer it._

 _Finally, this was what Mika had been waiting for. She fiddled hurriedly with her harness clasp, almost laughing out loud when she found herself free and running for her life out of that damn boring garden and down the country lane._

 _She wandered for hours, never once hearing the dreaded shrill calls of her current foster parents, but then, she wasn't really listening for them. Besides, she was pretty sure she left the Hidden Sound village a long while ago._

 _In her small, twelve-year-old mind, this had seemed like the perfect idea. Escape from foster family, find a new life on the road, maybe even get a job and work. It wasn't unheard of for children to work, but then again, most of them worked with their families and surrounding adults to supervise them._

 _Mika scowled at the thought. It's something she'd always wanted, and something she'd resigned herself to realise that she'd never have. A family._

 _By now, the sun had long since set, but twelve-year-old Mika wasn't afraid of the night or the darkness. Not until she heard a faint but distinct rumbling in the shadows._

 _Thunder? She glanced upwards at the dim sky, squinting at the stars that were shimmering clearly above her. No, not thunder._

 _Shrugging her shoulders lightly, she dropped the concern and continued down the country lane she had turned onto not long before. She wasn't sure how long she walked for, but by the time she had spotted lights on the horizon she had several painful blisters forming and her muscles were screaming like there was no tomorrow._

 _She paused momentarily to rub one of her feet, when the same rumbling sounded again behind her. She spun on her heel, wincing with the pain as her pupils widened futilely to try to see through the night._

 _But again, there was nothing._

 _Gulping down the fear that threatened to rise, she reluctantly set off once more, her eyes wide and her senses alert, flinching at every noise._

 _When the first street of the town came into view, she broke into a relieved jog, not stopping for breath until she reached the first house, which she noted, was also the biggest. The unique design of the roof tiles stood out and were hard to miss and seemed vaguely familiar to Mika, but then, she wasn't really into house décor. In fact, it just reminded her of Mr and Mrs Perfect's ridiculously boring conversation the day before about whether or not they should re-brick the chimney._

 _Who cares?! It's a damn roof._

 _She yawned noisily, clambering up the stone steps to the doorway and reaching out to tap lightly on the wood._

 _The porch light flickered to life, startling her momentarily, before the door was slowly pried open by a tall, greying male. Mika's eyes widened for a split second, something sparking in her memory as she met his hard expression._

 _He regarded her suspiciously, before opening the door further and towering over her small form. 'May I help you?' He enquired, his voice tired but even._

' _Umm,' Crap, she needed a story! 'I was out with my family when I got lost…'_

' _They must be worried about you then.'_

 _Fat chance. She only nodded in response, feeling slightly miffed that he hadn't offered her a place to sleep. She shifted her weight awkwardly onto one foot, glancing down at the floor until she heard the man sigh._

' _Come on in. You can stay here till morning I guess.' The floorboards creaked as he stepped aside to let her pass, not missing how her eyes lit up with relief as she entered. 'This way.'_

 _She glanced up at her host, frowning lightly as she stumbled after him up a rickety set of stairs. 'Umm, thank you for letting me stay Mr…'_

' _Tatsuo.' He mumbled, seeming to only vaguely be paying attention to her._

Grumpy old geezer _, she thought in distaste. They rounded a corner in the hallway upstairs when he stopped and gestured to a door._

' _This is one of the spare rooms. We'll figure out what to do with you in the morning.'_

 _She gave a meek bow, figuring not to push him since he really didn't seem like a very hospitable man. 'Thank you very much, Mr Tatsuo, sir.'_

 _He only grunted in response, and with that, disappeared back down the stairs._

 _Mika grinned to herself. See? This wasn't so bad, she survived the escape and the journey, and now she'd found herself a bed for the night too! She could do this. It was all looking up from here on out._

 _She could_ definitely _do this._

* * *

 **A/N:** If you have any ideas for scenes by the way, I'll be happy to try and fit them in! Please keep reviewing, I love you for it and I need to know what you guys think to improve or change anything :)

Okay so, question of the day: If a smoker goes into a coma for long enough, do they wake up without the craving to smoke? (Not a riddle!)

Riddle: What is light as a feather, but even the world's strongest man couldn't hold it for more than a minute?

See you soon!


	8. It Was Only A Matter of Time

**A/N:** I'm quite enjoying writing this fic actually, I hope you're enjoying reading it!

Answer to the question: It takes around 8 days for nicotine to leave the bloodstream, taking with it the physical craving. However they may still feel the effects of the habitual nature of smoking.

So basically, in theory, if you go into a coma you'll be able to quit smoking easier :P

And the riddle: His breath!

(Well done to trIchstEr99 for guessing both answers!)

Disclaimer.

* * *

 **It was Only a Matter of Time**

 _She could_ definitely not _do this._

 _Still pitch black outside, Mika had barely managed to grab a second of unbroken sleep, terrified by every slight creak of the floorboards and every sudden noise of the nightlife._

 _It wasn't the dark that scared her, nor was it the fact that she was in a strange house with a strange man. It was the fear of being found that had her squirming in her sheets, the omnipotent dread that she'd be dragged kicking and screaming back into the evil clutches of her current foster family or worse, back to the orphanage._

 _The paranoia had set in quickly, and now as she listened to the early rising birds begin their merry morning tunes, she realised with dismay that she had absolutely no idea where to go next. She supposed she would wander into the town, and try to figure out something from there._

 _So maybe she hadn't been entirely thorough when thinking this plan through. Where was she going to get food from? What if her 'parents' were here looking for her?_

 _She sat up and moved over to the window to peek out the curtains. The sun was being lazy this morning, heaving himself drowsily over the mountains in the distance as though even he didn't want to face the day._

 _It was only when Mr Sunshine had risen to a reasonable height of around nine hundred hours, when there was a loud rapping on the bedroom door, followed by it being flung open, almost flying off its hinges. Mika spun around from her position of leaning against the windowsill, startled._

' _The old man told me to come… up and…' The voice trailed off as its owner's magenta eyes widened, mirroring Mikazuki's own golden orbs._

' _YOU AGAIN?' The pair screeched in disbelieving recognition and perfect synchronisation._

' _I knew you were following me, seriously.' Hidan smirked, recovering before her and shaking himself out of his shock._

 _This was enough to also snap her out of it, as her features soon turned sour as she scowled with all her might. 'In your dreams! Why are_ you _here?!'_

' _I live here. Duh!' He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight to one leg cockily. 'Why are_ YOU _here?_

' _I… W-well, I'm…' Shit. What could she tell him? 'I erm, got lost last night…'_

 _He regarded her suspiciously for a moment. 'Where do you live?'_

' _The Land of Rivers…' It wasn't a complete lie. That was where the orphanage was based._

 _He raised an eyebrow. 'And you ended up here how?'_

' _I walked!' She snapped, which also, wasn't actually a lie._

 _He scoffed, clearly not believing a word she was saying, but playing along anyway just to annoy her. 'All the way from the Land of Rivers? Fuck that. So how're you getting home?'_

' _I guess I'll walk again…' She stated slowly, tilting her head as she wondered where he was taking this._

 _A grin spread across his face, making the girl instantly regret her reply. 'Then I'll walk with you.'_

'… _W-what?! You can't do that!' She spluttered, head snapping up in surprise._

' _Why not? I'm headed that way anyway for a mission.' He shrugged, maintaining a calm façade as he internally laughed at her outrage._

' _Mission?' She paused, briefly distracted. 'What do you mean? You can't go on missions yet – you're too young!'_

' _Tch, you really are dumb. You can go on missions as soon as your graduate the academy, you know! But I've been going on missions since I was 9.'_

 _She stared, momentarily dumbfounded. But before she could think of a clever enough remark, he grinned triumphantly, reaching out to grab her arm and tugging her out of the room._

' _Come on then, what're we waiting for?' He marched her all the way down the stairs and out the house in seconds, shouting a vague goodbye to the old man before slamming the door shut behind them._

' _Wait a second!' She snapped, yanking her arm back a little too hard and stumbling backwards at the force. Regaining her balance, she rounded on him. 'Who the hell do you think you are?! I don't have to go anywhere with you!'_

 _Hidan forced the smirk off his face and replaced it with his best innocent 'acceptance' expression. 'Well if you insist. Off you go then.' He gestured to the road ahead and she faltered at his sudden change of heart._

' _Go on!' He urged, moving to lean on the garden fence and crossing his arms over his chest. 'Unless you're scared?'_

' _Yeah right! Fine, good riddance to you!' She huffed angrily, stomping off and never once sparing him a goodbye glance. No way was she scared! She'd survived the night before, she could survive today as well. Just you watch…_

* * *

Waking up from a rare but pleasant sleep, Mika was incredibly comfortable. Unnaturally so. It was only when she made to move that she remembered she wasn't alone, sitting up so quickly that she gave herself head rush and managed to elbow Hidan in the chest.

'OW!' He yelped, followed by a habitual string of curse words that Mika only rolled her eyes to.

'It wasn't that hard, don't be such a baby.' She muttered, ignoring his irritated response and turning away to hide her reddening cheeks. Hurrying into the bathroom, the girl leaned over the sink to stare into her reflection's amber irises as she listened to her companion fumbling around in the next room.

'Urgh, what the hell is wrong with me?!' She growled under her breath, splashing water over her face as though trying to wash away her blush.

The recollection of her runaway-aged-twelve-self was slowly coming back to her, vague blurred images from the dream flashing through her mind as she brushed her teeth and fought with her dyed red locks. A loud smashing sound followed by a muffled 'fuck' had her clenching her jaw and exiting the bathroom, bracing herself for whatever mess the ex-Yugakure nin had created for her now. What a pain.

********** Later **********

The wind was strong today, almost as though the weather itself was on edge, sensing an upcoming change in the near future. A force that had most living beings scurrying away for shelter.

The pair of ninja were sat beside the same river they had sparred by the day before, a peaceful silence lingering between them, despite the weather. Hidan was leaning back on his hands with his legs stretched out in front of him, while Mika was sitting crossed legged, her chin resting on her open palm while her free hand tugged out random strands of grass.

'Hey Hidan?' Mika spoke quietly, barely loud enough to be heard over the roaring winds.

'Hm?'

'What happened last night? You know, after I got home… Did you find him?'

He tilted his head back to stare up at the sky, his expression twisting into something unreadable and slightly disturbing. 'I found him alright…'

Unable to hide her relief, Mika let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Deciding to change the subject to a less depressing one, she spoke again. 'So how long have you been with Akatsuki? I never had you pegged as the type to follow a leader…'

Hidan snorted. 'Yeah, if you can call that know-it-all bastard a leader. I was 19 when they found me so three years now. Too bloody long if you ask me…'

She chuckled as he broke off grumbling about the organisation, but when he spoke again he surprised her.

'Honestly, I never wanted to join. Didn't have much choice though, and it does give me all the chances to make sacrifices to Lord Jashin I want. That bastard leader can't control me anyway, screw him!' His hands balled into fists as he ranted, eyebrows knitting together in obvious distaste.

'Lord Jashin?' Mika blinked, becoming more unnerved when his eyes met hers with a sadistic grin. She'd heard him mention the name before, but only now really took notice.

'Oh yeah, I forgot you don't know about that…'

'Know about what?' She raised an eyebrow, unsure if she actually wanted to know or not. The trees howled around them as though warning her not to ask.

To her irritation, he only chuckled, changing the subject to one she really didn't want to discuss. 'So, what was on the paper that guy gave you?'

'W-what paper?! What guy? I don't know what you're talking about!' Mika spluttered, before recollecting herself and snapping her gaze to his, accusing. 'You were there the whole time and didn't step in sooner?!'

He smirked as she gave herself away. 'I just wanted to see what happened, but hey it all turned out fine in the end, right?'

'No! Not right…' She trailed off, her thoughts whirling in a tornado of panic and planning. Would she need a new disguise? Maybe she should just disappear altogether, pack up and leave this poisonous land and start anew in a different country, one where no one would know her face…

She stood up abruptly, painfully aware of Hidan watching her every move curiously. 'I-I have to go. There's s-something I need to do right now.'

Spinning on her heel without even giving him a chance to react, she stalked off hurriedly in the direction of her home. She needed to leave, immediately. If there were posters and a bounty out now, then the situation must have changed. Perhaps they'd found more evidence? Perhaps they were simply growing desperate.

Her eyes remained wide and alert as she raced through the town, catching vague glimpses of the very poster she still had stuffed in her coat pocket from the other night. They were pinned to lampposts and shop windows, seeming to mock her as she strained to hide from their eyes that glared out so familiarly. They must have put them up very recently, since she'd never noticed them before.

She reached her apartment in record timing, running straight to her wardrobe and pulling out an old, worn-looking duffel bag and throwing it on her bed. Then began the assault on her clothes hanging neatly on their hangers, flinging t-shirts and jeans in the vague direction of the bag. She had known it was only a matter of time until something like this happened. She was just thankful she packed lightly and didn't own many valuables that she'd have to carry with her.

Moving on to raid her drawers in a blind flurry of flying underwear, she missed the sounds of someone entering her apartment and shuffling into her bedroom until he snorted obnoxiously.

'Going somewhere?'

She squeaked unceremoniously as she spun to meet his partly amused but mostly confused expression as he held up a pink lacy bra he'd caught mid-air.

'Hidan! Go away, now's not the time.' She huffed, snatching the underwear off him and stuffing it into the side pouch of her duffel bag.

'Fucking hell, Mika. What've you gotten yourself into now?' He folded his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. She groaned loudly and ignored him as she began to tug on the zip, forcing the bag to close. It jammed about 2 inches from the end, threatening to tear open completely as she sucked her breath in and pulled with all her might.

'You wanna tell me what's going on, or shall I just ask one of the locals to explain those posters to me?'

He watched as she froze at the mention of those cursed flyers, her shoulders stiffening while she debated her options. Finally, after several long minutes of silence, she turned slowly to face him, her eyes watery and her breathing shallow.

'Alright. Fine, you win. I'll tell you, but you got to help me get out of here first…'

* * *

 **A/N:** So this is a new arc of her past that I'll be revealing over a few chapters, its important in the development of their relationship so I hope you enjoy it!

I'm loving finding all these questions and riddles for you guys, you know :')

Not a question today but a fact that I was amused by for way too long: While sitting at a desk, make clockwise circles with your right foot. While doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction!

I can't even feel it happen, so weird! :O

And the riddle for today: If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I?

See you next week!


	9. The Chapel

**A/N:** So I'm only updating this chapter because I'm stuck in my room even though the weather is beautiful… There are many wasps in my garden…

Answer to the riddle: Fire!

I don't own Naruto, only the OCs :)

* * *

 **The Chapel**

 _The worst part of the journey was the weather. Her fingers and toes stung with the bitterly cold wind and her lips were dry and chapped as she walked. Her chin tucked down into her neck and arms clasped tightly around herself in a futile attempt to conserve the very last of her body heat._

 _She wondered briefly how long she had been walking for. It was morning when she'd left Hidan at his home in the Hot Water village, and now as she watched the last few shreds of daylight slip away she almost wished he was still with her. At least that way she wouldn't be suffering alone. Then again, he'd probably just make things worse._

 _The road ahead was vast and empty, with only corn fields and distant woodlands lined with trees on the horizon. And then there was that rumbling that she kept had long since decided it was thunder, following her from just beyond the horizon. Supressing another shiver, she glanced around her current surroundings. There was really nothing that would provide her with shelter from the wind, and it was equally as hopeless in searching for somewhere to rest._

 _But, the night was drawing in fast and heaven knew she needed to sit down before her legs completely gave way. Hell, she didn't even know if she was still on the right track for the land of Rivers. She had a vague understanding that she'd have to cross the land of fire, all her travelling to different foster homes had left her with some knowledge of geography, though she'd never actually made this journey completely on foot and alone before._

 _She let out a short sigh, watching in mild fascination at the dull cloud her warm breath created as it hit the cold air. Squinting through the darkened area, she padded on silently until finally she spotted a faint glow of candle light in the distance._

 _Excited by her newfound hope, her pace quickened. The details became clearer as she drew closer. It looked like a very small church. More of a chapel, really._

 _She paused at the doorway next to an outdoor alter-like table that held the flickering tea lights. She spared a moment to wonder how they were staying alight in this wind, but the thought didn't linger as her legs wobbled in protest and exhaustion._

 _Inside was just as she had pictured. Dimly lit by lines of wall mounted candelabra and a grey cobblestoned floor to match the walls. Closing the door softly, she wandered down the aisle between rows of worn wooden benches, coming to a halt in front of the main Alter table. The centre piece was a very beautiful, golden glowing Menorah, with every flame strong and bright._

 _She smiled faintly, lifting her hands towards the warmth. No one seemed to be here, no sign of a priest or even any evening worshipers. Then again, she hadn't passed a house in hours, so she figured this was specifically for passing travellers or ninja on long distance missions._

 _She tore her gaze from the Alter and headed for the nearest bench, only something caught her eye before she could sit. Had she left the door open?_

 _She frowned to herself as she mentally retraced her steps. She was sure she had closed it. Forcing herself to move, she crossed the room and pulled it shut more firmly this time, giving it an experimental shove before nodding once in satisfaction._

 _Behind her, something clattered to the ground, and she spun on her heel just in time to see a flicker of silver as one of two very well-decorated Chalice's roll beneath the Alter table._

 _Okay, that was definitely not the wind…_

 _Mika gulped once, swallowing her fear and forcing words to her mouth. 'H-hello? Is someone there?'_

 _When there was no reply, she continued just to be on the safe side. 'I don't mean to intrude, I wasn't sure if I could stay here?'_

 _Again, she was only greeted with the quiet sound of the wind whistling outside and gentle crackling of the candles. For a minute, she didn't move. Rooted to the spot in rising fear, she had to remind herself to breathe as she willed her legs forward towards the front._

 _Picking up the Chalice cautiously, she placed it softly back in its place and turned to have one final scan of the room, only this time she wasn't alone, and he was standing with his face just inches from hers._

 _She yelped in horror, trying to dart backwards and colliding with the table, this time making both Chalice's tumble to the floor._

 _The chapel rang and echoed with his laughter as she regained her balance. He could almost see the fury bubble up from her stomach, to her throat and explode out of her mouth as she roared in frustration and made to punch him squarely in the jaw._

 _She missed of course, which only served to anger her further. 'HIDAN. What. The hell. Are you. Doing here?' She seethed._

' _I told you! I'm heading the same way as you!' He answered honestly in between laughs._

' _So you were following me the whole time?!'_

' _No, actually I left about two hours after you'd gone. You're just so damn slow that I caught you up in no time.'_

 _He dodged the silver cup that was thrown carelessly at his shoulder, holding up his hands defensively. 'Hey, didn't you ever hear there's no violence in a church? Crazy bitch.'_

' _Didn't you ever hear there's no swearing in a church? You idiot. Were you trying to give me a heart attack?!'_

' _Oh come on, it was funny.'_

' _Was not.' She huffed, glowering as she shoved past him, settling herself down on a bench and closing her eyes as she allowed her aching body to finally relax, even if it was forced._

' _You'll get over it. We should get some sleep anyway, long journey ahead of us tomorrow, especially at your pace!'_

 _She opened one eye suspiciously. 'So you're not going to go on without me?'_

' _Nah, long journeys are boring as fuck on your own, and you're so easy to wind up it'll keep me entertained the whole way there.'_

' _Why you… You… You bastard!'_

 _He stared at her for a moment, before throwing his head back as he howling once again with laughter._

 _She let out a long sigh as she slapped a hand to her face. This was going to be a long night._

* * *

'What are you thinking about?' Curious golden eyes blinked up at magenta as they ran side-by-side.

Hidan smirked at the memory as it dissipated in his mind while he answered. 'That chapel in the land of fire.'

She frowned as she replied. 'Why were you thinking of that?'

The Jashinist couldn't hide his pleased expression at her knowing instantly what he was referring to as he spoke again. 'Because we'll be passing there in about half an hour.'

'What? How long have we been travelling for?' Her eyebrows knitted together further as she tried to figure out the distance they had covered. 'Have we passed Konaha?'

'Not yet, we're about three miles South from there.'

'Oh. We got here fast!'

Hidan raised an eyebrow and threw her an unimpressed sideways glance. 'Are you fucking kidding me? We've been travelling non-stop all day! Even Kakuzu wouldn't run for this long if there was a guaranteed pot of gold at the end, seriously!'

'Oh. Sorry…' She mumbled, automatically slowing her pace.

Her companion made a noise of distaste. 'Whatever. So when are you gonna spill the beans?'

'Maybe we should find a hotel?'

'Yeah, yeah. Ignore me for now, but I will get it out of you, even if it kills me…' He smirked again, this time at the irony of his statement, though Mika didn't understand that reference just yet.

Hidan wasn't exactly sure of how to tell her he couldn't die, but he was sure as hell looking forward to watching her reaction. He liked her the best when she was angry, though there was also something he loved about the way shock and fear painted her feminine features. He liked her insecurities and how, more often than not, she found herself seeking comfort from him, whether that was intentional or not. How she pretended to hate him, but then failed to hide her amusement at his terrible jokes and admittedly bad habits.

His eyes trailed over her as she slowed to a halt in front of him, muttering to herself about locating the nearest hotel where they wouldn't be recognised. He stared at her hair again. The Akatsuki member really did prefer her natural colour. The red dye just seemed to sap all the brightness from her golden irises, and her skin was far too pale to pull off such a colour. No, black suited her much better.

'Hidan, are you even listening?'

'I think you should change your hair back to black.'

She paused, momentarily thrown by the random choice of topic before she reminded herself that this was Hidan, and he wasn't exactly well known for his attention span. 'Why are you so obsessed with that?! Just drop it already… There should be an inn around this corner.' She nodded her head toward a sign tucked away at the side of the road and slightly obscured by leaves.

'Fine. Let's go.'

********** Several hours later **********

She had been drifting in and out of consciousness all night, but it was only now that she decided to give up completely, just as the early morning birds began to sing.

Hidan was still fast asleep and snoring lightly beside her as she sat up, cautious not to wake him. She showered and dressed quickly, pausing once more in front of the mirror before she left the bathroom. She tugged on a red strand of hair. Maybe she _should_ change it back? After all, the whole point of dying it was to disguise herself, but if people in the River country hadn't put two and two together by now, it was only a matter of time until the flyer from the bar she'd worked at was matched up to the wanted posters.

She sighed and re-entered the main room of the inn, where the Jashinist was now sat upright and staring at her expectantly.

'…What?' She snapped, frowning.

'You know what.'

'No, I don't.' She feigned innocence, but he knew her game all too well.

Pulling out a piece of folded paper from his cloak pocket that she didn't realise he had, he began to read aloud. 'Missing. Mikazuki Naya, _beloved_ daughter of the Chief of Tanigakure, Katashi Arato. It is–'

'H-hey! Hidan, give that here!' She snatched at thin air as the page was torn out of her reach.

'Not until you tell me what it's about!'

Mika cursed as the Akatsuki member stood at his full height, holding the paper up too high for her to stretch to, and continued reading.

'It is of utmost importance that she be returned home as soon as possible. Willing to pay handsomely for her retur–ngh!' Hidan grunted as Mika tackled him with everything she had, effectively knocking the poster from his hands as he struggled with her flailing limbs.

'Alright, alright! Chill out, woman!' He protested, holding her arms together while she smirked at the simple fact that, this time, at least she wasn't being pinned to the floor too.

He rolled his eyes and released her, sitting with his legs out in front of him as he leaned against the bed. She sat up too, legs and arms crossed defiantly as they stared each other out.

Finally, she let out a small breath of frustration and squeezed her eyes shut. She knew she owed him an explanation, but she didn't exactly have to enjoy it.

'It was four years ago. I was seventeen with only a few months left in that God-forsaken village prison until I turned eighteen…' Hidan knew she was referring to the orphanage, and that they needed to be eighteen before the orphans were officially deemed old enough to take care of themselves, though she'd never told him in so many words. He'd long since figured it out, and she knew it. 'Then one day, old Chief High-and-Mighty came in asking about an adoption ''for the good of the village'', and said he needed someone of an older age. I was the oldest there at the time, so I was chosen.'

She gritted her teeth together before opening her mouth to continue, vaguely noting that Hidan was being uncharacteristically quiet as he listened to the tale he'd been so eager to hear. 'I was only with them for about four months, they were pleasant enough, but then just after I turned eighteen I overheard a conversation between Katashi and his wife, Hana. They were saying–'

Her words were abruptly halted when a hand was slapped across her mouth and another curled around the back of her neck. It took her a moment to register that it was Hidan, who was now crouched behind her slightly. She was about to start complaining when he lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered in his calmest Hidan voice, 'Shh, listen!'

Her eyebrows scrunched together, but she found herself complying. She was about to stretch her chakra outwards when the hand over her mouth tightened. 'Not with chakra. Just listen…'

Mika shrugged out of his hold and he let her, satisfied that she wasn't about to start mouthing off when he saw her tilt her head, straining to hear whatever it was.

Seconds ticked by, and Mika started to wonder if he was just messing with her, but then she heard it. It was subtle, but definite, and right outside the hotel room. Shallow breathing, shuffling of feet and the ever-so-slight clanging of metal. Ninja!

Before she even had a chance to widen her eyes, the wooden door was kicked in violently, and a team of four had darted through the doorway, poised for attack. Hidan, clearly experienced in this sort of thing, swung his scythe almost immediately in one great swoop around the room before grabbing her roughly by the forearm and leaping backwards and out the window.

The glass shattered on impact, Hidan taking the brunt of the fall and charging off for the forest the second their feet hit the floor, Mika hot on his heels.

* * *

 **A/N:** Let me know what your guesses are! You didn't think Mika's story would come out that easily did you?

Today's question: Half of all American's live within 50 miles of what?

Riddle: Why is six afraid of seven?

As always, no cheating on the answers! :) See you next time.


	10. What're you, my mom?

**A/N:** Time's flying so quickly these days… I'm supposed to upload every week or so but it's more like every two weeks lately. I'll try to remember better!

Question answer: Their birthplace! N'aww :D

Riddle answer: Because seven ate nine... :P Guess that one was more of a joke :P

Still a disclaimer. I don't own Naruto or its characters, only my OCs.

* * *

 **What're you, my mom?**

'You know, this is the first time I've ever had to wonder if they're actually after me or not.' Hidan sneered as he ran, earning a glare from Mika.

'Shut up and run, you moron!' She snapped, yelping as a kunai flew past her ear, nicking her cheek. 'Okay, so the running may not be such a great plan…'

The Jashinist glanced over his shoulder and tutted. It was a squad of four Konaha ninja from the looks of it, most likely after Akatsuki then, not Mika. Well, if they wanted Akatsuki…

Digging his heels into the ground suddenly, he skidded to a halt and spun on the spot to face their pursuers. Mika, utterly unaware of his thought process almost ran straight into him, only managing to stop just millimetres before colliding with his chest.

' _Hidan_!' She hissed, annoyed and confused. 'What're you doing?'

He scoffed at her panicked expression. 'I can take these losers… Go on ahead, I'll catch up.'

She bit down on her lip and growled in frustration. She may be weaker than him, but she wasn't about to leave him to do all the fighting. For one thing, as much as it annoyed her, it was against her morale judgement. For another, she'd never hear the end of it when he undoubtedly did catch her up.

One of the Leaf nin arrived swiftly just as she had positioned herself beside Hidan, her silent refusal to leave ringing loud and clear. Another hung back slightly on an overhead branch, though the other two were nowhere to be seen.

'Akatsuki.' The oldest of the two greeted coolly, brown eyes narrowing in accusation.

'Konaha.' Hidan responded almost pleasantly. If it wasn't for the tense atmosphere and the glares they were receiving, she'd have sworn they were meeting old acquaintances.

'Let's skip the niceties, shall we?' The Leaf jounin dipped his head and bent his knees slightly, a tell-tale preparing-to-attack pose that any ninja could recognise. He wasted no time in flinging two large shuriken stars at the Akatsuki member, who merely flicked the wire of his giant weapon, deflecting them effortlessly.

He started to move forward before freezing oddly mid-step.

'Way too slow…' The Leaf ninja from the overhead branch smirked cruelly, his hands pressed together in some sort of hand sign.

 _Damn it._ Mika scowled, _he's blocking his movement… with a shadow?_

Before a single other thought could enter her head, the bushes on either side of them rustled obnoxiously, and the missing two Konaha ninja pounced from their hiding places.

Her golden orbs widened, but there was nothing she could do as the one closest to her whipped past her at lightning speed. Both wielding large, kunai-like blades, they drew them back and, without a second's hesitation thrust them into Hidan, equally hitting his vital organs.

'N-no…' Mika barely whispered the word, hardly daring to breathe for fear of breaking the illusion. This was an illusion right? He'd never go down this easily…

'That's one down…' The older jounin commented, and the shadow user nodded once in agreement.

She gulped audibly still staring at Hidan, his head was down and she couldn't read his expression. Was he…?

'OW. That hurts!'

Startled gasps from the Leaf ninja echoed through the trees, but Mika had still yet to release a breath.

'What the hell?!'

'Are you serious?'

'We both hit his vital spots!' One of them managed to stammer through his shock, earning another groan from the Akatsuki member.

'Hey, quit sticking it in like that… I said knock it off – it hurts!' Though still frozen, his magenta eyes flitted from one assailant to the other, seeming completely unfazed. Was she seeing things? Is this a genjutsu?

'What is he? Is he immortal?!' The second Konaha ninja demanded, backing away slightly.

'Isn't that obvious, you fool? Wait a second, that symbol...' Hidan's eyes moved to a sash tied around the oldest ninja's waist. 'That's from the Guardian Shinobi something-or-other. Oh terrific. Kakuzu's going to go crazy when he finds out he's missed out on you!'

'Kotetsu! Izumo! Retreat.'

The two jounin on either side of Hidan obeyed immediately, releasing their weapons and bounding back to stand beside their squad leader. In the sudden movement and shock of the situation, the fourth member relinquished his jutsu enough for Hidan to break free.

'I'm free!' His loud, obnoxious cackling rang in Mika's ears clearing her head and bringing her back to reality. She shook her head furiously, there was no time to be freaking out right now. They needed to get away, and fast.

'I'm going to enjoy this! You lot will make great sacrifices for Lord Jashin!'

Mika made to scold him, but after what she'd just witnessed, her voice failed and all she could manage was to croak, 'w-we should get out of here…' But Hidan had other ideas.

'Hell no! I want these guys for my ritual.' He grinned manically, a crazed look in his eyes, which she hadn't seen in a long time. 'Just stay out of this. I'll handle them.'

Seeing no other option and still feeling a little dizzy from the shock, she agreed. Maybe he could handle them after all…

She took a few hesitant steps back, but one final grin from Hidan, that could only be described as ecstatic, finally made her mind up. She leapt up into the trees where the leaves were thicker and ran full speed until she lost track of how long she'd been running.

* * *

Mika doubled over, panting hard. Her throat had completely dried up, making every breath coarse and painful. She tried to swallow, hoping to hydrate herself slightly, but winced when the motion scratched roughly against her throat.

She glanced up and around at her new surroundings. She knew was still in the Fire Country, and she was pretty sure she'd well and truly passed Konaha by now. She supposed it was kind of careless to check into an inn less than three miles away from one of the five Great Nations since, from what she knew, they weren't exactly on good terms with the Akatsuki.

Would she be branded as one of them now? She doubted it, and she hoped not.

She walked for a few more minutes, still catching her breath, until the faintest sound of trickling water reached her ears. _Perfect!_

Mika knelt down beside the small stream, gulping water from her hands and sparing a moment to wish she had a flask with her. Sitting back from the waterside, she closed her eyes and placed her hands on her knees in an almost meditative position as she stretched out her chakra. She felt around for a good ten minutes before deciding it was safe to rest here temporarily, and fell back against a fallen tree trunk.

Sleep was definitely needed right now.

* * *

' _What're you, my mom?!' Thirteen-year-old Hidan sneered mockingly at the raven-haired girl as she stood blocking his path, arms folded defiantly over her chest._

' _I mean it. There is no way we are taking that.'_

 _She was glaring so hard that it was starting to give her a headache, but she absolutely refused to sit back and allow him to steal from a chapel._

 _Amused magenta eyes rolled, finally relenting and dropping the chalice he'd been holding on the floor. Mika flinched at the clatter, but smirked in satisfaction at the first time she'd won an argument._

' _Right then. Come on, we're wasting daylight!' She voiced merrily, skipping through the chapel doorway and out into the sunlight._

 _The boy rolled his eyes again, grumbling as he started to follow her, but something in the distance suddenly caught his attention. He froze, senses alert as he listened for the noise again._

' _Hey, what's the big dea–Mpf!' Mika squirmed as Hidan was beside her in a flash. He wrapped an arm around her neck, while his other hand clasped over her mouth and muffling any other complaints she had._

' _Shut up a second!' He hissed in her ear, tightening his grip and pulling her head backwards slightly. She finally seemed to get that he wasn't just winding her up this time, as she stilled almost instantly._

 _He released her cautiously, subconsciously moving in front of her as he crept forward. The road before them was empty, but the rows of corn fields on either side of the path made it difficult to see beyond._

 _Mika watched him go, musing silently that this was probably the longest time she'd ever seen him be this quiet. She opened her mouth to ask what he'd seen or heard when the very same rumbling that she'd been hearing the past two nights sounded from behind her. She slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her gasp, hardly daring to breathe as she turned ever-so-slowly around._

 _Her amber eyes met with a deep pair of ebony ones, much larger than her own. The creature was massive and, though it's head was bent to meet her eye level, it could easily have towered above her tiny twelve-year-old form. The rumbling continued from deep within its throat as their eyes remained locked together, like it was daring her to try to run. It was strange, she felt paralysed and completely unwilling to move, stuck in its hypnotising glare. It was almost as though it was drawing her to it…_

' _Get down!' A voice yelled to her, but she barely registered it, lost in the seemingly endless black pools before her. That is, until something hard collided with her back and threw her sideways, pinning her to the ground just milliseconds before the creature had chosen to pounce. Its claws scraped her arm as she was pushed from its path, drawing blood._

' _Wh-what the…' She stuttered dazedly, as though just waking up from a dream._

' _Wolves. Seven of them. Get up. Move!' Hidan yanked her upwards by her bleeding arm, earning the desired pained cry from the girl and snapping her out of her reverie._

' _There should be a village about six miles that way. I'll meet you there.'_

 _She backed away a few steps, before fully comprehending the implication. 'Wait, what?'_

' _Just go! Now!' His eyes narrowed harshly, eyebrows drawn together in an expression of true anger he'd never actually directed at her before._

' _But what about–' Her panicked question was cut off sharply when one of the wolves leap forward, fangs bared, aiming straight for her._

 _She barely had time to close her eyes when it was suddenly wrenched back in mid-air just inches from her face._

' _NOW!'_

 _She didn't need to be told twice this time, taking off in the direction he'd pointed and throwing one more look over her shoulder, a mix of terror and concern._

* * *

Waking up to violent shoulder shaking and an angry Akatsuki member yelling in her face was not something Mika enjoyed. She shook her head desperately and slapped his hands away, muttering something incoherent about needing more sleep.

'What, are you just waiting to be jumped? Falling asleep in the middle of Fire Country with a bunch of Leaf ninja about. You idiot!'

'Will you just shut up! I'm too tired! Just let me sleep…' It was rare that she managed to sleep so easily, and she wanted to make the most of it. Perhaps it was the shock of everything that'd happened recently, finally driving her to her limit. She rolled over and attempted to snuggle back into the grass, but Hidan was having none of it.

Moving to stand by her feet, he grabbed both her ankles forcefully and pulled upwards, unable to contain a laugh when she tipped upside down and almost did a full backwards roll.

'WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!'

'Jashin damn it! I told you it was hell to pay by waking you up… Come on, we've got to keep moving. I think I just made things worse with the Leaf.' He smirked that sadistic crooked smirk that had her questioning his sanity, but only sighed in defeat and scrabbled to her feet.

'Fine, fine. I'm up. Come on then let's…' Her voice trailed off faintly as she took in his appearance. His cloak was ripped and torn off over one shoulder, and the majority of his upper torso was completely smothered in blood. However, she failed to find any deep enough cuts in his chest to match the way he'd been stabbed back there. She supressed a shudder as one hand reached out subconsciously, but he only grinned and leapt up into the trees before she could make contact.

 _Did I dream all that?_ She wanted to wonder, but she knew she hadn't.

'H-hey!' She shouted, the confusion and frustration all coming back to hit her in the face. Hidan ignored her, but his pace slowed slightly so she could catch him up.

'Erm, hello~!' She yelled as she ran two steps behind him, still completely bewildered.

He glanced over his shoulder, his smirk changing to a laugh at her disbelieving expression.

'What the hell?! Are we just going to pretend that didn't happen?' She screeched at him, picking up the pace slightly to catch him up.

'It's a Jashinist thing, I've been this way for almost four years!'

 _Jashin? There's that term again._ It sounded vaguely familiar, but Mika couldn't quite place where she'd heard it.'And you didn't think to bring up that _minor_ _detail_ before now?!'

'Well it's not exactly something you casually drop into conversation is it? Hey, long time no see, by the way I can't fucking die!'

'Urgh, whatever, we'll _discuss_ this later. We need to gain some distance from Konaha.' She snarled, pushing forward to lead the way through the foliage.

'What're you, my mom?' Hidan called somewhat playfully, but followed her all the same.

* * *

 **A/N:** I enjoyed writing the links in this chapter between the flashbacks and present day! Let me know how many connections you found :P

Question time! Most owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

Riddle: A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later, they both go out and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How is this possible?

Ha, till next time!


	11. Sacrifice

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far, it's now looking like 2 weekly updates, but I still have quite a bit pre-written. :)

Question answer: The Obsession. Huh. I wouldn't have guessed that for a boat name, but it makes sense I suppose!

Riddle: She was photographing him, first she shot the picture, then she developed it, then she hung it!

Disclaimer! Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, obviously.

* * *

 **Sacrifice**

 _The first wolf lunged at Mika again, but the thirteen-year-old boy's senses were sharp, and he'd predicted the move before it'd even decided itself. He yanked it back by the tail just in time, gritting his teeth as the animal struggled against his hold and turned on him._

' _NOW!' He growled, leaping sideways as the wolf swiped at him._

 _Finally, Mika complied, taking off in the direction toward the village he'd shown her. As she ran, she threw one more look over her shoulder, a mix of terror and concern._

' _Just fucking go!' he snapped again, stopping three of the pack in their attempt at pursuit with a string of shuriken._

 _She nodded grimly, and moved off again, leaving him alone with the pack._

 _Hidan grinned as they circled him. 'Now it's a party.'_

 _As Mika ran, she listened to the dying sounds of animalistic snarls on the wind. Her steps slowed as the wind began to drown out the noise, suddenly unnerved at having left him alone, seven to one._

' _This is ridiculous', she thought out loud, grimacing. 'He's a ninja, he can take on a few animals…'_

 _Coming to a complete standstill, she turned around tentatively. She could no longer see or hear them, but she hadn't really travelled that far. It couldn't hurt to go back and check on him, stay at a safe enough distance so that she wasn't getting in the way or anything._

 _Yeah, a quick check wouldn't hurt._

 _Mind made up, she broke into a sprint again, back the way she'd come. She panted as she ran, stamina nowhere near as competent as it should have been. She made an absent-minded note to work on that more, in the future. Rounding the last corner of corn field lined road that blocked her view of the wolf pack, Mika skidded to a halt._

 _Five of the seven were either lying dead on the ground or completely unable to move anymore, but the last two appeared to be holding their own. The largest one, that had first attacked her, was standing back a little as the sixth member of his pack scrabbled with the young teenager it had pinned to the ground. Hidan was holding it back with a pair of kunai crossed against it's thrashing, bleeding mouth. It's fangs bit down into the metal as its head flung from side to side, attempted to disarm him._

 _Mika watched, slightly capitvated by the motion of it's vigorous movements, and how well Hidan was keeping it at bay. That is, until the alpha chose to make it's move. It ran at the boy from the side, Hidan turning his head just in time to notice._

 _Pushing up against the wolf above him, Hidan forced his weapons further into it's jaws, causing it to yelp and relinquish the attack momentarily. Just enough time for him to roll away. But his movements were sluggish now, slower than before._

 _Mika barely even managed to cry out to him when the alpha's teeth sank into the boy's arm, ripping at the flesh as he sliced it's muzzle. It released him, and Hidan leapt away, dropping the kunai, but these animals were beyond surrender. They had lost too many of their pack by now, and they were livid._

 _Hidan backed away slowly, reaching into his ninja pouch at his hip and producing his last shuriken. It wouldn't do him much good against the two feral animals stalking towards him now, but it was all he had by way of defence. His magenta irises flickered rapidly around his surroundings, failing to find anything else worth using._

 _As the wolves launched into the air, his knees dipped as he braced himself, a dark smirk crossing his features. The smirk, however, was soon wiped clean and transformed into shock, when a ripple of black hair flashed by him, diverting the wolves attention as she made a dash for the discarded kunai._

' _What the hell are you doing?' He demanded, furious._

' _Improvising!' She grunted as she swiped up the weapons and spun on her heels to face their opponents, suddenly starting to regret her lack of plan when the larger wolf charged her. The other wolf, distracted, yowled in pain suddenly when Hidan took his chance to finish it off, having been able to retrieve the another fallen kunai in the moment._

 _Turning his attention back to the girl, he tensed when the wolf leapt at the twelve-year-old before him, eyes wide. Somehow, she managed to avoid a head on collision where her throat had been it's original target, but as it's teeth clamped over her shoulder, her eyes widened with realisation._

 _She had a perfectly clear shot at it's heart. Hidan had noticed, too._

' _What are you waiting for, you idiot?!' He roared, fists clenching as he watched her hesitate._

 _Wincing with the pain as the wolf bit down harder, Mika's eyes squeezed shut. 'I'm so sorry…' She murmured, and then, with all the force she could muster, she plunged the little knife upwards, gasping in horror as the wolf let out a terrible howl._

 _It's hold on her shoulder loosened, enough for her to shrug away and watch in distress as the creature's features twisted in anguish. Her whole body shook as it's life slip away. The realisation of her actions hitting her hard._

 _Heart hammering almost hard enough to break a rib, Mika struggled to block out the sound of rushing blood coursing through her ears as her vision blurred. Eyes wet, she met Hidan's amethyst gaze just as her legs gave way, vaguely aware of someone catching her before she could hit the ground. The edges of her blurred sight began to blacken, until the colour had completely consumed her, and her consciousness slipped along with it._

 _When she awoke several hours later, a hauntingly familiar woman bent over her, Mika's mind reeled. She was back at the orphanage? But how…?_

 _Wracking her brain as she scanned her vaguely returning memories, a chilling thought dawned on her. Had Hidan brought her back here? It was all Mika's twelve-year-old mind could come up with, and her stomach twisted in fury at the realisation._

 _That bastard… She knew she shouldn't have trusted him._

* * *

'You go first.'

'What? No way, you go first!'

'It's ladies first!'

'Oh so now you're being a gentleman.'

'Hey! Aren't I always?'

'If you were, then you'd go first.'

'If I was, I'd–'

'If you don't go first then I'll never tell, and you'll never know. Let's see who's curiosity holds back the longest.'

'…'

'…'

Mika smirked, she knew she'd win with that.

'Tch. Fine, I'll go first… Shit, I hate it when you win.' Hidan grumbled, settling into a more comfortable jog beside the red-haired girl, pocketing the kunai he'd be twirling.

They'd been on the move ever since the Konaha incident, only pausing momentarily to catch their breath. Hidan had been using this time to taunt Mika with his immortality, so they'd pretty much been arguing the entire time.

'So how do we go about this? You ask a question, then I answer or…?' He asked, still bitter about having lost the battle of who was going first.

'Just start at the beginning, moron.'

'Geez, no need to snap.' He spared a moment to dodge the rock she'd scooped up and thrown at his head, earning himself a scowl.

'Oh I see, allowing two kunoichi to pierce your organs is fine, but a rock you avoid.'

'Do you want the damn story or not?'

She huffed loudly, sarcastically miming zipping up her mouth.

A smug grin spread across his face as he began. 'That's better. So, I first started following the ways of Jashin when I was 17. Actually I discovered the religion just after the last time I saw you. Must have been… 5 years ago then…'

* * *

 _He'd always known about the temple, it just wasn't something Hidan was ever interested in, religion. He didn't see the point. All that time and dedication spent praying and bowing to something or someone that was very unlikely to ever even pay attention to you just seemed a giant waste of time to him. There was no God, there likely wasn't even a devil. Just evil people, and evil things._

 _A God was something people looked to when they'd lost all hope and had nothing left to lose, which was not a point Hidan ever planned on getting to._

 _So as Hidan passed the temple not far from his home in Yugakure, he was 100 percent intent on passing it by as he had done all his life. That is until, something caught his eye. Something just inside the open church doors. Something shiny._

 _His mind flashed back to a time with Mika, to a small chapel they had spent the night in, which had also donned similarly expensive looking items. Unfortunately, at that time, he'd had Mrs. Good Two Shoes on his back when he'd considered what he was considering now. To act upon such impulses now would not only help him erase some of the debt he'd built up in his village, but also seemed like a sly dig at Mika, which, even though she'd never find out, made him feel immensely smug._

 _Decision made, he sauntered towards the building, vaguely noting that there were no current chakra signals donning the area. Perfect._

 _It was almost too easy, church people were way too trusting. And why did a church need such expensive items in the first place? If their God was real, he'd want it to go to someone who was much more in need of it, like himself._

 _Nodding triumphantly at his reasoning, he crossed the threshold and arrived in front of the alter. On it, there stood two ornate chalices, a decorative brass incense burner, an extremely fancy monstrance, and what looked like a golden hilted dagger, which he thought odd, being in a church. Shrugging, he lifted the weapon to his eyeline, humming in admiration of it's craft._

' _Maybe I'll keep this one for myself', he thought smugly. Wrapping the articles in the delicate fabric covering the alter table, he glanced around again to make sure he remained undetected. Then, after one final sweep of the church, he also managed to procure a metal receptacle shaped cup with an arched lid, and four silver candelabra._

 _His package clanged loudly as he slung it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and began his swift exit. His footsteps echoed in the drafty building as he stalked up the aisle between rows of empty pews, but his escape was short lived._

' _Tell me, son, what do you know of this temple?'_

 _Hidan flinched at the sudden voice behind him. Odd, he hadn't sensed him approach. Spinning around and meeting an old haggard face standing mere meters away from him, he grimaced. Not out of fear, but aggravation. Now he'd have to kill a priest._

' _That, as a place of God, he'd want these items to go to someone more worthy.' He commented dryly._

' _Hm. I thought you'd say something along those lines. I was like you, once.'_

 _Hidan rolled his eyes. 'I highly doubt that.'_

' _Tell me, where you going before you stopped by here?'_

' _Stalling won't help, old man.' Dropping the stolen goods still wrapped in their cloth to the ground with a unceremonious clatter, Hidan reaching into his pouch._

' _Do you enjoy death?'_

 _This question gave the teenager pause, gritting his teeth. 'Are you threatening me?'_

 _To Hidan's surprise, the priest chuckled, leaning against the side of a pew and folding his arms comfortably. 'Quite the opposite, in fact.'_

 _Hand curled around a kunai in his pouch, Hidan fought with his curiosity. He knew it'd be better to just finish the old geezer right here and now, but damn it his weird statements were intriguing him._

' _Alright, old man. I'll humour you.'_

 _Chuckling again, the man pushed off from the bench and strolled towards the items by Hidan's feet. The younger male tensed as he watched him lean down into the material, fishing out the dagger._

' _Don't you think it's odd, to find such a weapon of death inside a place of worship?'_

 _Hidan only shrugged, eyeing him cautiously._

' _And this, it's called a ciborium. Do you know what it's used for?' The priest asked, lifting the metal cup into view._

' _I've a feeling you're about to tell me…'_

' _See for yourself. Take a whiff.' He smirked, pushing it toward Hidan's face._

 _Pulling a face at the weirdness of it all, Hidan complied, accepting the cup and raising it to his nose. An eyebrow lifted as he identified the scent._

' _Blood- ah!' He yelped in sudden surprise as the priest used this distraction to nick his arm, ever so slightly with the dagger._

' _Sacrifice.' The man murmured cryptically, turning around and stalking toward the altar. Blood dripped from the blade as he raised it over the slab of bare stone. 'This is no ordinary alter, this is no ordinary church. It is the church of Lord Jashin, God of Pain, and Death. And he will punish those who do not do his bidding.'_

 _The doors to the building slammed shut behind him and the candles on the overhead chandeliers flickered. Wind rushed through the pews and up towards the priest as he held the dagger out over the table, above his head._

 _Hidan watched, fascinated and somehow unable to bring himself to move. More crimson droplets fell from the dagger to the table, the red running together to form a large red circle. The priest's eyes slid shut as he began chanting in some foreign prayer, the blood beneath him now running in three straight lines in the middle of the circle, sporting an upside down triangle in the centre, each point touching the circumference._

 _A cold shudder ran through Hidan's body and finally shook him out of his stupor. With a growl, he gripped the kunai in his pouch ready to tear this freak's throat out before this got any stranger. He ran forward, almost reaching the altar when the preist's eyes snapped open, and he plunged the dagger downwards, directly into the centre of the bloody symbol._

 _All of the wind in Hidan's lungs was completely knocked from him, and he fell to his knees in shock and agony. His chest burned, hands clawing at the material of his shirt as he tore it away. Though his skin remained unmarred, he felt as though he'd had his heart ripped out. The pain was unbearable._

 _Collapsing onto his side, he craned his neck back just in time to see the priest kneeling above him, holding out a rosary with the same symbol he'd seen on the altar._

' _Judgement has been passed.' The man spoke, but Hidan's ears were ringing. Slowly, the room began to swim into a darkness the teenager had no choice but to welcome, swallowing him whole as he slipped away into its depth._

 _When Hidan finally awoke, he was surrounded by strangers, all dressed entirely in black, as though at a funeral. He had wires and monitors attached to his body in various places, almost entirely stripped of his clothing. Wincing at the overhead light, he fought with the wires as he ripped them away one by one, vaguely aware of his wary audience, simply watching him._

 _Body now free from the last wire, his vision refocused on the people around him, recognising one as the priest from the temple._

' _You… You bastard.' He ground out, finding words strange on his tongue, as though he hadn't spoken in years._

' _You have been blessed, by our Lord himself.'_

' _Yeah? Well I don't feel very blessed.' He grumbled, swinging his legs off the table he was lying on and attempting to stand, balance wobbly at first. 'The hell did you do to me?'_

' _You became a sacrifice of Lord Jashin, but he has chosen you, to send you back to do his bidding, here on Earth.'_

'… _You what?' He stared at the priest, expecting a better explanation, but when none came, his eyes widened. 'You fucking sacrificed me?!'_

' _Don't you see, this is the ultimate blessing, Hidan.'_

' _I didn't ask for any blessing! And how the fuck do you know my name?'_

' _Calm down, son. All will be revealed soon. For now, you should rest. Your body is still adjusting.'_

'… _Adjusting to what? What have you done to me?' He repeated, frustration rising._

' _All in good time, Hidan. Now rest.' He lifted his hand and brushed it over the teenager's eyelids, closing them gently. And for some reason, Hidan could do nothing but comply._

* * *

 **A/N:** Feedback on Hidan's past so far would be greatly appreciated! Actually, feedback as a whole. It really helps me get a feel for what people think and what people would rather read :D

Question today is: What is a group of unicorns called? 3

And the riddle: A man left town on a horse on Thursday, was gone for two days, and came back on Thursday. How did that happen?

Peace out!


	12. Judgement

**A/N:** So obviously a lot of the backstory is made up, I followed as much as we know from the anime, but hopefully this clears some stuff up.

Question answer: A blessing! 3 Well it would be, to see a group of unicorns, wouldn't it!

And the riddle answer: His horse's name is Thursday ;D

Still a disclaimer!

* * *

 **Judgement**

Rain beat down on them as the pair leapt from branch to branch, having taken to the trees to be less detectable. Hidan had just finished his tale of his indirect conversion, and Mika's mind was reeling with the information.

'When they finally explained everything to me, it was too late to go back. I was already like this. Apparently, it was an experiment they'd been working on for a while now, they just didn't expect to get a breakthrough on a heathen…' He snickered, amused at his past blindness. 'Really rare to be selected specifically by Lord Jashin to continue to follow his ways without the obstacle of death.'

'So you just accepted that without knowing a thing about them? Since when do you let anyone tell you what to do?'

'Well I didn't just happily go along with it all happy and merry and accepting of my consequences… I tried to kill them, at first. Besides, I didn't have much of a choice at that point!'

Rolling her eyes at the absurdity, Mika couldn't help but wonder, 'why you, though?'

Hidan shrugged, seeming unfazed. 'Who knows. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy that conversion, seriously!'

'Why? What did you have to do?'

'There were loads of initiation tasks and tests of loyalty and a shit ton of reading to do. I had to learn the entire ways of Jashinism in like, three days before completion.'

'Completion?' She echoed, finding the phrase odd.

She almost regretted asking as Hidan's tone took on a grave note. 'Completion of the conversion, in order to remain the way I was, I had to shed some serious blood. In the name of Jashin, a whole lot of sacrifices.'

Mika gulped, dreading the answer to her next question. '…And what did that entail?'

'Because I hadn't been involved in the religion at all prior to this 'experiment', I was way behind on the acceptable quota of spilled blood for a loyal patriot to Lord Jashin. I lacked evidence of dedication, obviously, so I needed to make up for that, and fast.'

Glancing over at his companion, the Jashinist's brow furrowed. He considered momentarily how much detail he could go into with her, but something about the firm line her mouth had set into convinced him to comply. 'They gave me a choice. Either I could stay at the temple and learn directly under the high priest for a minimum of two years, with him teaching me all the rituals and ways of their Lord, or…'

Mika grimaced, bracing herself. 'Or?'

'Or I could slaughter the entirety of my village.'

The redhead tried to reign in the gasp of horror that rushed through her lips, but failed miserably. Hidan's eyes were fixed dead ahead as he waited for her to process what he was telling her, silently admitting to choosing the latter option.

She watched him from the corner of her eye, calmly leaping from tree to tree beside her. She'd always known he was crazy. Angry, even. Angry at the world for some unknown reason that baffled her still. But to slaughter an entire village? His own village?

'I never liked them anyway.' He scoffed suddenly, and Mika almost laughed at how casual he sounded.

'…Do you regret it?'

Hidan met her eyes as he took off from another branch, a thoughtful expression on his face until, finally, he answered. 'No. The world is a sick place. The way of Jashin is to cleanse it before the day of final judgement.'

'By sacrifice?' She guessed, dropping his gaze when he confirmed.

She wasn't sure what to make of it in all honesty. Although, she supposed, she was glad he'd managed to cheat death up until this point. Having an S-class criminal on your side had its benefits. Feeling a sweep of awkward silence fall upon them, Mika reached for the first change of subject she could. 'Maybe we should stop for food. I think we've run for long enough now.'

As if on cue, Hidan's stomach growled in agreement.

'…Take that as no complaint from you then?' Mika smirked, as she dropped from the trees to the ground. From higher up, she had spotted a small café type stall up ahead.

Grumbling at his treacherous stomach, Hidan followed her. He guessed one little break couldn't hurt, that is, until he felt a familiar prickle in the back of his mind.

'Aw you have gotta be kidding me. Now of all times?!' He growled, slapping himself in the face.

Mika turned to him, annoyed. 'Hey, it was your stomach that rumbled…' Not to mention the rain had just decided to pick up. A bit of shelter wouldn't go amiss.

'Shh, not you.' He silenced her, waving her off as though she'd simply accept that explanation. 'There's something I gotta do, might take a while…'

Confusion won out over offence, and Mika had to question that further. 'Er, okay… How long is a while?'

'Meh, about three days or so. You can wait for me in the next inn if you want.'

'Oh right, yeah sure, that sounds reasonable… NOT. YOU IDIOT. What the hell is so important that it has you running off for three days without a single explanation?!' She fumed, hands slapping to her hips as she rounded on him.

But Hidan was already strutting away, one hand flicking dismissively over his shoulder. 'Just some Akatsuki business, we're far enough away from the Leaf by now so the next inn should be safe for a while.'

Mika stared after him, a mixture of shock and fury as he disappeared from her sight.

One day, one day she swore, she was going to murder him.

Somehow…

* * *

'You went to the trouble of calling us back here, just to seal the two tails?' Hidan grumbled, scowling through the darkness to the blurred silhouette of their leader.

'It will take three days. Prepare yourselves.' Pein stated, used to disregarding Hidan's complaining.

'Three days? Oh man, it's raining where I am!' He continued anyway, despite being ignored.

But this time Pein didn't ignore him, picking up on his choice of personal pronoun.

'Where _you_ are?' He raised an eyebrow and turned to where Kakuzu's shadow was standing silently. The older member's lack of response confirmed the unspoken question of _you aren't together?_ 'I thought I told you to keep an eye on him, Kakuzu.'

'You told him what?!'

'Something came up.' Kakuzu muttered in response to Pein, his voice husky and mysterious as always.

'Woah, hey!' Hidan shouted, extra irritated at being bypassed this time. 'Wait just a minute, you asked that old miser to spy on me?! What kind of _team_ is this?'

'Hidan, you and I are birds of a feather, which is precisely why I am wary of your motives. We are more similar than you care to admit.' Hidan scoffed in disapproval, but their leader continued, undeterred. 'However, it doesn't matter what you use to justify war, religion, philosophy, resources, land, revenge, love… Even a whim. No matter how trivial the motive, they are all worthy causes for war. There will always be war. Human instinct seeks conflict.'

'Alright, nobody wants to hear your long-winded lecture!' Hidan muttered rudely, though it was no secret to Akatsuki that he held little to no respect for the Rinnegan user. 'Listen, I've got my own way of doing things. I have my own set of goals. I don't intend to devote my all to this… _organisation_ , alright?'

' _That_ is why I asked Kakuzu to keep an eye on you. But heed this, so long as you are affiliated with the Akatsuki, you WILL contribute to its cause. We have no use for petty _distractions_.'

'Huh, you can act all cool if you want, but it won't change the fact that the only thing the Akatsuki wants is to make money!' He growled hatefully, choosing to avoid the 'distractions' comment. 'You're the same as Kakuzu… and fighting for money is the motivation I hate most.'

'You're right, our immediate ambition is indeed financial, but the Akatsuki's true goal lies elsewhere, and it is one that will ultimately cost a great deal of money to fulfil.'

This was news to the Jashinist, making him realise just how little he actually knew about Akatsuki. 'After Tobi, I'm the second newest member of the team, so I haven't heard anything about this true goal from you. You just plan stuff behind my back!'

'Are you sulking?' Pein spared a mean chuckle for the Jashinist before putting on an unusually patronising voice. 'I suppose it's about time I told you. The Akatsuki's ultimate objective will be accomplished in stages. There are three steps in total, the first being money.'

'Tch…'

'The second is to assemble the finest mercenary army the world has seen.'

Hidan, jumping to conclusions before Pein had a chance to finish, groaned half from exasperation and half out of boredom. 'Come on, that's just what the shinobi villages are already doing! You complete a mission and you get a payment. What, you want to become the ruler of some tiny village that doesn't have a host nation to support it? Is that what we're all doing here?! Heh, how stupid.'

'…A tiny village, you say? Hm, you have it backwards.'

'What?' He ground out, getting more agitated by the second.

An evil smirk crossed Pein's lips as he regarded the arc of Akatsuki silhouettes assembled on giant stone fingertips. 'We don't want to rule _one_ village, Hidan. We want to rule them _all_.'

* * *

Hidan grumbled in irritation as he shook the rain from his cloak. How is was still raining after three days was beyond him, and it was really starting to get on his nerves.

Cursing as he accidentally trudged straight through a thick puddle of soggy mud, he shook his sandal angrily and stomped away, heading toward the nearest inn he presumed Mika would be staying at. To his mild relief, he was able to pick up vague flecks of residue chakra she may or may not have realised she'd been leaving behind, a breadcrumb trail for him to follow.

The inn he arrived at was much swankier than anything he'd ever known Kakuzu to stay in, which was completely unsurprising to the Jashinist. Flashing a grin at the startled receptionist, he ignored the way she jumped up in concern at his bedraggled appearance. Murky droplets fell from his cloak and feet as he walked, snickering as he caught her pulling out a mop from the corner of his eye when she thought he was out of sight.

Heading straight up the stairs, still following the chakra trail, he paused when he reached the end, outside a door on the first floor. Pressing an ear to the wood, he grinned again when he heard a shower running inside. Perfect.

He picked the lock like a professional and sauntered inside to make himself comfortable on the bed, stretching out his legs and folding his arms behind his head as he awaited her return.

The room was pleasantly comfortable, he noticed, with modern décor including a white oak chest of drawers, desk and matching headboard. Atop the desk stood a half sized mirror, and beside that rested a small radio and landline phone. The Akatsuki member spared a moment to appreciate the moderate luxury she had selected.

When the sound of running water was finally shut off, Hidan had found amusement in sifting through the Methodist bible he'd found tucked away in one of the hotel drawers, stifling laughter when the bathroom became quiet.

The lock on the bathroom twisted, and her slender form appeared in the doorway, clad only in a too-long t-shirt, and a towel around her hair. She almost choked on the toothbrush hanging from her mouth when she saw him, toothpaste mingling with curse words.

'Fucking hell, Hidan, you tryna give me a heart attack?!' She scolded, disappearing back into the bathroom to spit, followed by a quick gargling noise as she tried to drown out his laughter.

'I hope you're satisfied.' She scowled.

'Very.' He grinned, snapping the book shut and chucking it carelessly onto the floor. 'Hope you didn't miss me too much.'

Rolling her eyes, she crossed the room to where her duffel bag lay strewn across an armchair in the corner. Pulling out some shorts, she angled away from him as she shrugged them on. 'So, do I get an explanation?'

Hidan ran a finger over his chin in mock thought. 'Hmm, nah. Nice towel, by the way.'

She glowered at him as she took a seat, tugging at the material wrapped around her head. A tumble of glossy, black locks fell from its constraints as the towel was discarded, catching his eye as she began to brush through it with her fingers.

'Where do we go from here, then? Carry on heading West?'

'You changed your hair back.' Hidan commented bluntly, ignoring her question and sounding smug.

Mika shrugged. 'Yeah, well, I figured there isn't much point in hiding it any longer, now that those fliers are out.'

'Uh-huh… So about those fliers…?' He pressed, sitting up and crossing his legs in anticipation. He'd waited too damn long to get the full story by now.

Sighing, Mika's hands stilled in her hair as she locked eyes with him in the mirror. Expression clouded, her eyebrows furrowed as she realised she had been putting it off for too long.

'Alright, fine. I'll tell you. But first, answer me one question.'

'Go on?' Hidan agreed nonchalantly, all too eager to finally find out what the hell was bad enough that Mika would willingly enlist herself into a life on the run for.

'What you said the other day, about judgement and sacrifice?'

'The people in this world are what's left it so messed up, by sending them to an early judgement with Lord Jashin, the world is one step closer to being cleansed of its evil.' He supplied, though she hadn't asked her question yet.

She hesitated, taking in his words and swallowing thickly. 'So what you're saying is, eventually the ideal world would be completely free of humanity?'

Unsure of where she was going with this, Hidan backtracked a little. 'Well, no, not everyone. Just those capable of evil. Which is mostly everyone.' He grinned a little, an attempt to lighten the mood, but Mika couldn't meet his gaze.

'I see.'

'…Why do you ask?'

Snapping her head up suddenly, expression that of unprovoked resolve, Mika spoke softly. 'So that includes me, then?'

Hidan almost reeled back at the words, though spoken quietly, they rang in his head as he replied, eyes visibly softening. 'Mika, I hardly think you're capable of evil.'

Again, she swallowed hard. 'You might think differently after I tell you my story…'

* * *

 **A/N:** I really hate making Pein the bad guy, but hey, there's gotta be some conflict in the plot! Also, any feedback on their interactions and Hidan's backstory so far is greatly welcomed!

And now for everyone's favourite part: Question time! What is the only animal with four knees?

And the riddle: If a blue house is made out of blue bricks, a yellow house is made out of yellow bricks, and a pink house is made out of pink bricks, what is a green house made of?

Till next time! :D


End file.
